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CS/CS/CS/HB 1481 2026
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hb1481-03-c3
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to housing for veterans; creating s. 2
83.684, F.S.; providing a short title; providing 3
definitions; establishing the Homes for Veterans 4
Property Management Incentive Pilot Program in certain 5
counties, subject to legislative appropriation; 6
requiring the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, in 7
consultation with other entities and persons, to 8
oversee specified aspects of the pilot program; 9
providing the responsibilities of the corporation for 10
the pilot program; requiring contracted program 11
administrators to maintain certain functions of the 12
pilot program; authorizing certain landlords to apply 13
to a contracted program administrator to request 14
funding from the Vacancy Relief and Risk Mitigation 15
Trust Fund under certain circumstances; providing the 16
purpose of such trust fund; providing requirements to 17
request funding from the trust fund; requiring certain 18
case managers to assist the contracted program 19
administrator; requiring the contracted program 20
administrator to maintain and provide certain 21
documentation to the corporation; requiring the entity 22
responsible for certain functions to maintain any 23
supporting documentation; authorizing the corporation 24
to rely on certifications, determinations, and 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
documentation provided by specified entities; 26
providing that funding for the pilot program is 27
awarded on a first-come, first-served basis; 28
authorizing the corporation to suspend the acceptance 29
of applications under certain circumstances; requiring 30
specified notice; requiring the corporation to adopt 31
rules; providing an effective date. 32
33
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 34
35
Section 1. Section 83.684, Florida Statutes, is created to 36
read: 37
83.684 Homes for Veterans Property Management Incentive 38
Pilot Program.— 39
(1) This section may be cited as the "Homes for Veterans 40
Property Management Incentive Pilot Program." 41
(2) As used in this section, the term: 42
(a) "Corporation" means the Florida Housing Finance 43
Corporation. 44
(b) "HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program" 45
means a program that combines the United States Department of 46
Housing and Urban Development's housing choice voucher rental 47
assistance for homeless veterans with case management and 48
clinical services provided by the United States Department of 49
Veterans Affairs. 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
(c) "Pilot program" means the Homes for Veterans Property 51
Management Incentive Pilot Program. 52
(d) "Veteran" has the same meaning as in s. 1.01(14). 53
(3) The Homes for Veterans Property Management Incentive 54
Pilot Program is established in Broward, Escambia, Hillsborough, 55
and Santa Rosa Counties to provide eligible landlords with 56
incentives to lease eligible dwelling units to veterans who are 57
participating in the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing 58
program. Implementation of this pilot program is subject to 59
annual legislative appropriation. The corporation, in 60
consultation with the local public housing authority and case 61
managers assigned to veterans by the United States Department of 62
Veterans' Affairs, shall establish and oversee the Vacancy 63
Relief and Risk Mitigation Trust Fund, the applications for such 64
trust fund, the document requirements, and all processes of the 65
pilot program. The corporation's responsibilities under this 66
section are limited to program administration, including 67
rulemaking, oversight, and establishing and executing contracts 68
with one or more local public housing authorities, contracted 69
program administrators, or other public or nonprofit entities 70
that have experience administering the HUD-Veterans Affairs 71
Supportive Housing program, supportive housing, or landlord 72
mitigation programs to perform intake, documentation review, and 73
claim verification functions to locally administer the funds in 74
the Vacancy Relief and Risk Mitigation Trust Fund and to 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
distribute funding to the contracted program administrator for 76
payment of approved reimbursement requests. The corporation is 77
not responsible for maintaining eligibility files, tenancy 78
records, or other case-level documentation for the HUD-Veterans 79
Affairs Supportive Housing program. Such functions must be 80
maintained by the contracted program administrator. 81
(4)(a) A landlord who enters into a rental agreement with 82
an eligible veteran may apply to a contracted program 83
administrator to request funding from the Vacancy Relief and 84
Risk Mitigation Trust Fund for the purpose of allowing a 85
landlord to hold a dwelling unit for a period of time, and still 86
be compensated for the time that the dwelling unit is vacant, 87
until the veteran is able to move into the dwelling unit. Such 88
trust fund provides proportional rent to eligible landlords for 89
a period of up to 45 days after the date the dwelling unit 90
becomes available or until the actual date that the veteran 91
moves into the dwelling unit, whichever is sooner. 92
(b) To apply for funding under paragraph (a), a landlord 93
must submit all required documentation to the contracted program 94
administrator within 60 days after the veteran moves into the 95
dwelling unit. The case manager assigned to the veteran must 96
assist the contracted program administrator by facilitating 97
trust fund requests from landlords and documentation compliance. 98
The contracted program administrator must maintain all 99
documentation required under this subsection and provide the 100
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
corporation with a certification of eligibility, tenancy dates, 101
and verified costs within the timeframe established by the 102
corporation by rule. At a minimum, a landlord must submit 103
documentation to the contracted program administrator in the 104
form and manner established by the corporation. Required 105
supporting documentation necessary to confirm eligibility for 106
reimbursement and oversight must be maintained by the entity 107
responsible for case management or rental assistance 108
administration in the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing 109
program. 110
(c) The corporation may rely on certifications, 111
determinations, and documentation provided by public housing 112
authorities, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, 113
providers of Supportive Services for Veteran Families, 114
continuums of care, or other entities responsible for 115
administering or supporting the functions of the HUD-Veterans 116
Affairs Supportive Housing program. The corporation's reliance 117
on such certifications, determinations, and documentation 118
satisfies the corporation's oversight and evaluation 119
responsibilities of the functions, activities, and outcomes for 120
the pilot program. 121
(5)(a) If a veteran moves out of the dwelling unit during 122
the first 12 months of a year-to-year rental agreement or after 123
the expiration of a rental agreement for any duration, the 124
landlord may apply to the contracted program administrator for 125
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
funding from the Vacancy Relief and Risk Mitigation Trust Fund 126
to cover property loss at the dwelling unit caused by the 127
veteran which extends beyond the amount of the deposit money. 128
The landlord may apply for up to $2,000 beyond the deposit 129
money. 130
(b) To apply for funding under paragraph (a), a landlord 131
must submit all required documentation to the contracted program 132
administrator within 60 days after the veteran moves out of the 133
dwelling unit. The case manager assigned to the veteran must 134
assist the contracted program administrator by facilitating 135
trust fund requests from landlords and documentation compliance. 136
The contracted program administrator must maintain all 137
documentation required under this subsection and provide the 138
corporation, within the timeframe established by rule, a 139
certification of eligibility, tenancy dates, verified damage 140
amounts, and verified costs. Required supporting documentation 141
necessary to confirm eligibility for reimbursement and oversight 142
must be maintained by the entity responsible for case management 143
or rental assistance administration in the HUD-Veterans Affairs 144
Supportive Housing program. 145
(c) After the veteran vacates the dwelling unit, the 146
landlord must provide a copy of the move-out checklist with 147
current photos of the dwelling unit and a copy of the written 148
notice provided to the veteran by the landlord in accordance 149
with s. 83.49(3)(a). 150
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
(d) A landlord may apply for funding under paragraph (a) 151
only if the landlord previously applied for funding under 152
paragraph (4)(a). 153
(6) Funding for the pilot program is limited, and the 154
corporation shall award funds on a first-come, first-served 155
basis. The corporation may suspend acceptance of applications 156
when available appropriations are fully obligated. The 157
corporation must notify contracted program administrators if 158
intake of applications is suspended and when intake of 159
applications is resumed. 160
(7) The corporation shall adopt rules to implement this 161
section. 162
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 163