KEYSTONE HEIGHTS – A bill proposed in the Florida House of Representatives by Rep. Charles Van Zant Sr. (R-Keystone Heights) would single out military personnel for special treatment when applying for housing.

Van Zant wants to eliminate background checks that accompany housing applications, which are typically credit checks and criminal background checks. Local leaders of veterans groups doubt the necessity of such special treatment.

“I don’t think they should get special treatment – if a veteran has bad credit, I don’t know if they should get a lease just because they’re in the military,” said Tom Rentz, post commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8255 in Middleburg.

Though a criminal background check could identify someone with a mental health need not being met, Rentz said background checks with housing applications shouldn’t be counted on to catch those issues.

Rentz said the military addresses the needs of the recently-deployed when they return from combat. However, many veterans continue to experience post-traumatic stress disorder years after re-entering civilian life. Many veterans don’t reach out for treatment.

“There is a safety net in place for the guys who are active duty, but the problem is they fall off the radar when they get out,” Rentz said.

Van Zant’s bill says a landlord must limit the amount of advance rent or deposit money required, but doesn’t say specify the limit. It requires condominium and homeowners associations to complete rental application processing within a specified time frame and prohibits background checks, but doesn’t specify whether it would prohibit all background checks or only certain types.

“If an association requires a background check as a component of a rental application, the association must waive such requirement for a service member if he or she produces poof of active duty military service,” the bill states.

Clay Today requested an interview with Van Zant, whose legislative aide, Brad Caoulette, said Van Zant wasn’t available to be interviewed. Via email, Clay Today sent him questions asking why he felt the bill is necessary, what specific background checks his bill refers to and what conditions the bill refers to.

Caoulette responded by phone, saying Van Zant told him he wouldn’t have answers to those questions and that Van Zant maintains a policy of having breakfast with any reporter first as a pre-requisite to granting an interview.

Gary Newman, president of the Clay County chapter of Vietnam Veterans of America said housing application processes shouldn’t be connected with any mechanisms in place to catch untreated mental health issues in the veterans community.

“I don’t know if it’s good to cast a wide net because so many things are in place to help those coming back from combat,” Newman said. “They have counselors and screening processes that we didn’t have when we came back from Vietnam. Back then, there was no such thing as PTSD, but that’s recognized now and even the county has things like veterans court in place to help veterans. So, I think the net is already wide enough.”

Rentz agrees that veterans groups provide an adequate network that can catch these issues but doesn’t agree with singling out active duty personnel as outlines in Van Zant’s bill.

“There’s a big safety net out there; the problem is identifying it. I don’t think we should look to housing managers who aren’t trained in dealing with mental health or other military issues like PTSD to catch those issues,” Rentz said. “The VFW, Disabled American Veterans and others are better-suited to point that guy in the right direction. Nonetheless, exempting active duty from background checks doesn’t seem to serve anything.”