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County amends Local Housing Assistance Plan to fund last month—s rent and security deposit; deposit to be returned to county if unused
Summary
Commissioners approved technical updates to the three‑year Local Housing Assistance Plan (LHAP) and amended rental assistance to pay last month—s rent plus security deposit (rather than first and last only); the county will require unused security deposits be returned.
The Okeechobee County Board of County Commissioners approved renewal of the Local Housing Assistance Plan (LHAP) for 2025–2028 and amended local rental assistance guidelines to change which payments the county will cover.
Lacey Granados, the county—s affordable housing coordinator, presented the three‑year LHAP renewal required by Florida Housing Finance. Staff said revisions included more detailed disaster‑assistance language and a new property‑tax assistance strategy. The board discussed whether county rental assistance should cover first and last month—s rent (the program—s current guidance) or first, last and the security deposit.
Granados said a prior technical revision removed security deposits so tenants have some "skin in the game." Several commissioners raised that returning an assisted security deposit to the renter at move‑out encourages tenants to care for the property, while other commissioners said assisting with the security deposit and returning any unused deposit to the county protects landlords and helps houses cycle back to market faster. Commissioners asked about caps and administration: Granados said the program currently caps assistance at $3,000 per household.
The board amended the proposed LHAP to permit payment of last month—s rent and the security deposit as the county portion of assistance (so households receive two of three: first, last, or security) and directed that if a security deposit paid by the county is not needed for repairs it must be returned to the county. The motion to approve the LHAP renewal and the amendment passed unanimously.
Why it matters: The change affects how county rental assistance funds are used for households entering housing and seeks to protect both tenants (by lowering upfront barriers) and landlords (by ensuring funds used for security deposit can be recouped if unused).
