Housing Matters blog

All Vermont residents who own and occupy their home on April 1 must once again file the Homestead Declaration annually by the due date for filing Vermont income tax returns, which is April 15this year. When homeowners file their declaration, the town is then able to apply the correct education property tax rate to the property. If the property owner does not file a Homestead Declaration by the deadline or by the extended deadline of October 15 (penalties apply after April 15), then the property will be taxed at the higher property tax rate.

This is particularly important to those seeking a property tax adjustment because the declaration must be filed first. The process for filing a Property Tax Adjustment Claim has been made easier this year as the claim is now on the same form HS-122 as the Homestead Declaration. Refer to information on the property tax bill when filing.

The Vermont Department of Taxes encourages electronic filing, but using paper form HS-122 is acceptable. Both electronic filing and form HS-122 may be found online at the Department of Taxes website at www.tax.vermont.gov. For more information on the Homestead Declaration and the Property Tax Adjustment Claim, visit www.tax.vermont.gov or contact the Vermont Department of Taxes at (802) 828-2865 or (866) 828-2865 (toll-free in Vermont).

Read answers to frequently asked questions about Vermont’s homestead declaration.

Provided by the Vermont Tax Department.  

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Tuesday January 22

CDP Approved Fair Housing Trainings

• 1:00 PM-4:00 PM
• Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce, 33 Steward Road, Berlin, VT

The Vermont Community Development Program requires municipalities who receive CDBG funds to attend VCDP-approved Fair Housing Trainings. Who can attend on behalf of the community – A member of the legislative body, municipal CEO, municipal manager/administrator or a municipal designee responsible for housing issues within a municipality such as members of planning commissions, zoning boards of appeal, development review boards or local housing committees as approved by the legislative body. The goal is to ensure the appropriate people are attending the trainings and sharing the information they receive with their municipal colleagues. To register for the Fair Housing Trainings listed above call Rachel Van Cleve at the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity. More information: Rachel Van Cleve, CVOEO 802.864.3334,rvancleve@cvoeo.org

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The Vermont Homeless Awareness Vigil and Legislative Day

• 8:30 am – 12 pm
• Vermont State House –  115 State Street,  Montpelier, VT

The Vermont Homeless Awareness Vigil and Legislative Day will be held on January 10, 2013 at the Vermont State House. Attendees can convene in the Card Room from 8:30am – 12:00pm. The Vigil will take place at noon on the State House Steps. For more information contact Linda Ryan, 802.373.6505, Email.

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The Vermont Statewide Housing Conference is proud to announce its lineup of 18 workshops, in-depth plenary panel and keynote speaker, and networking opportunities. Register online today for this important event!

The biennial housing conference will be held November 15th at the Hilton in Burlington. At the last conference, in 2010, we reached capacity and had to turn people away, so register today for this wonderful opportunity.

Thanks to the generous sponsors of this event, the cost is the same as last time, just $60 for everyone who registers before October 5th.

VHFA is just one of many partners who come together to plan this. Others include:

• Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition
• Housing Vermont
• Vermont Housing and Conservation Board
• USDA-Rural Development
• Vermont Department of Economic, Housing and Community Development
• Vermont Home Mortgage Bankers

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Tomorrow there’s an exciting opportunity to dive into the details of Vermont’s housing laws. Billed as “an advanced workshop for planning professionals exploring Vermont housing laws,” this event will cover an overview of fair housing laws, changes to Title 9, and the Federal Fair Housing Act. “Case studies will be presented, followed by a discussion of potential future amendments to housing laws in Vermont,” the flyer reads.

This free event is taking place at Vermont Law School in South Royalton. The above workshop will be from 1pm to 4pm, followed by the American Planning Association National Law Review from 4pm to 5:30pm.

More information is available on the Vermont Planners website and RSVP to Faith Ingulsrud. Both CLE and AICP law credits are available.

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The Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) has developed an “accessibility tool” for funders and developers to use to determine when and how the various accessibility laws and standards (ADA, Section 504, UFAS, FHA, VT’s Access Rules and Visitability Law) apply to affordable housing development.  In recognition of National Fair Housing Month and the completion this project, VHCB is hosting an accessibility training on April 30th 1:30-3:30pm in Montpelier (exact location to be determined).

The principle author of this tool, Nolan Riegler a Vermont Law School intern, will give an overview of his research on the applicable laws and regulations, walk everyone through how to use the “accessibility tool”, and then we’ll open it up for questions and next steps.

RSVP to VHCB by Monday, April 9^th by calling 802.828.3250 or emailing VHCB.

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Chittenden County’s ECOS project is attempting to measure the region’s progress towards its housing goal of “increasing the opportunities for safe, decent, energy efficient, affordable, and fair housing for all types of households in diverse neighborhoods.” With such a broad goal, what data could indicate if we were on the right – or wrong – path?

VHFA and the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission are inviting you to help pick the indicators that will be analyzed to gauge success in the future.

Please come to VHFA’s offices (164 St. Paul Street, Burlington) on Thursday, February 16^th from 2-4pm to discuss what would be the most appropriate factors to monitor.

Right now, there are some suggested indicators for the housing goal, which is just one of over 40 indicators in the larger project of evaluating the region’s sustainability.

There are more indicators to comment on, for example there is a Social Community goal to “ensure physical access to the built environment (buildings and transportation) for all people” that clearly would apply to housing as well as other goals intended to increase diversity and public engagement.

You are welcome to comment on any of the indicators proposed online through ECOS’ website.

VHFA’s meeting on February 16^th will be open to the public as a way of having a collective conversation about what data is available and what is most appropriate as an indicator. If you have any questions, please contact Maura Collins, VHFA’s policy and planning manager.

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Over the past 18 months, VHFA, the Vermont Housing Managers Association (VHMA) and other statewide housing providers and advocates have been working on the concept of developing a universal rental application that could meet the basic needs of most housing programs in Vermont.  A streamlined approach has been requested by rental applicants, case managers and social service agencies working with rental applicants for years.  The need to simplify the process was identified in June at Governor Shumlin’s Housing the Homeless Summit and is even more pressing with the housing issues following the devastation wrought by Irene.

VHFA recently released the final draft of the common application based on feedback received over the past year, including the VHMA Shelburne Farms meeting on August 23, 2011.   At the meeting, VHFA’s Executive Director, Sarah Carpenter, announced that the application would be implemented on January 1,  2012.   Sarah also noted at the meeting that all statewide funders have agreed that using this application will be required as a condition for future Vermont funding cycles. 

Please contact Sam Falzone at sfalzone@vhfa.org or (802) 652-6435 with any questions or comments. 

View the draft Common Rental Application.

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Yesterday, FEMA postponed the deadline for registering for infrastructure assistance to October 17th.  By this date, government agencies and certain private non-profit organizations needing funds to rebuild infrastructure damages caused by hurricane Irene must register with FEMA. 

FEMA’s Public Assistance (Infrastructure) program reimburses state and municipal governments for the cost of eligible emergency protective measures, debris removal, and the repair, restoration, reconstruction or replacement of public infrastructure such as roads and bridges, water control facilities, public buildings and contents, public utilities and parks, and other recreational facilities damaged during a disaster.

Read our post yesterday describing this assistance and how to obtain it.

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This summer, Vermont Housing Finance Agency sent a targeted email to participating lenders and a network of Realtors across the state announcing a summer contest: for each one who clicked the email to “like” VHFA on Facebook, or signed up to follow our Housing Matters blog, they were entered into a drawing to win an Elite Keurig brewer and five boxes of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters coffee.

Susan LaFerriere at Union Bank’s office in St.Johnsbury was our winner!

Susan is a Vice President/Residential & Consumer Loan Officer at Union Bank. Union Bank is a community bank serving northern Vermont and northwestern New Hampshire. Headquartered in Morrisville, the bank prides itself on being a full service bank that offers personal and commercial banking and trust and investment services.

In Fiscal Year 2011, Union Bank originated over $1.6 million dollars of VHFA loans making it the Agency’s fifth-largest generator of VHFA mortgages for that year.

Congratulations Susan!

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