Florida Senate - 2025                                    SB 1056
       
       
        
       By Senator Smith
       
       
       
       
       
       17-00886-25                                           20251056__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to rental assistance for veterans;
    3         creating s. 420.5098, F.S.; providing legislative
    4         findings; creating the Veterans’ Rental Assistance
    5         Grant Program; authorizing the Florida Housing Finance
    6         Corporation to provide certain grants to eligible
    7         applicants for a specified purpose; providing
    8         eligibility requirements for the program; authorizing
    9         rulemaking; providing an effective date.
   10          
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. Section 420.5098, Florida Statutes, is created
   14  to read:
   15         420.5098 Veterans’ Rental Assistance Grant Program.—
   16         (1) The Legislature finds that:
   17         (a) Honorably discharged veterans have earned and deserve
   18  the highest level of social welfare support.
   19         (b) Honorably discharged veterans deserve reasonable access
   20  to housing.
   21         (c) Some honorably discharged veterans are only able to
   22  secure housing through renting.
   23         (d) Lower-income honorably discharged veterans may not have
   24  the financial means to provide a security deposit and first and
   25  last month’s rent, which many landlords require before issuing a
   26  lease.
   27         (e) Providing rental assistance for eligible honorably
   28  discharged veterans would help eliminate barriers to housing.
   29         (2) The Veterans’ Rental Assistance Grant Program is
   30  created to provide security deposit assistance for low-income,
   31  honorably discharged veterans.
   32         (3) The Florida Housing Finance Corporation is authorized
   33  to provide one-time grants under the program from funds of the
   34  corporation in amounts up to $2,000 to eligible applicants for
   35  the purpose of assisting in the payment of security deposits for
   36  rental housing.
   37         (4) To be eligible to receive a rental assistance grant
   38  under this section, a person must meet all of the following
   39  requirements:
   40         (a) Be an honorably discharged veteran of a branch of the
   41  United States Armed Forces. A DD-214 form issued at the time of
   42  separation is required as proof of honorable discharge from a
   43  branch of the United States Armed Forces. However, if a DD-214
   44  form is not available, other documentation may be acceptable if
   45  recognized by the United States Department of Defense or the
   46  United States Department of Veterans Affairs, as determined by
   47  the Florida Housing Finance Corporation.
   48         (b) Be a resident of this state. A Florida driver license
   49  or Florida identification card is required as proof of
   50  residency.
   51         (c) Have an annual household income that is at or below 140
   52  percent of the area median income. Annual household income must
   53  be verified in the manner required by the Florida Housing
   54  Finance Corporation, which may include background checks and a
   55  review of documentation such as bank statements and W-2 forms.
   56         (d) Apply to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation in the
   57  manner prescribed by the corporation.
   58         (5) The Florida Housing Finance Corporation may adopt rules
   59  to implement this section.
   60         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.