The Vermont Public Utility Commission (PUC) is seeking public feedback to help design the Clean Heat Standard. The CHS will have a significant impact on low and moderate income Vermonters and may offer new resources to help increase efficiency and decarbonization in affordable housing. A public engagement session will be held on Thursday, June 6th.
Housing policy
Upcoming community investment series on partnerships and capital for affordable housing
VHFA is pleased to be partnering with and participating in the upcoming community investment forum “Leveraging Partnerships and Capital: Unlocking Barriers to Affordable Housing and Economic Development” on April 16 in Manchester, presented by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston. The Manchester forum will be one of eight events throughout New England as part of the series.
Speakers at the Manchester forum include:
Just Action authors Leah & Richard Rothstein to speak on April 1
VHFA is pleased to be a sponsor of the 2024 April Fair Housing Month kick off event “Just Action” with authors Leah & Richard Rothstein on April 1 starting at 5:30pm at Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center in Burlington. This free event and statewide housing justice book club will promote community-based solutions to housing segregation and exclusion.
Reimagine how Vermont locations are designated for community development
Join local officials, planners, business and property owners, statewide leaders at the Designation 2050 Design Summit on September 12, 2023. Hear about the findings of the Designation Program Evaluation underway and help design the future of these programs – and Vermont.
Another way to contribute your ideas is through surveys tailored to your role in the community, as a member of the general public or with a municipality, agency or partner organization or as an elected or appointed official.
New program launches to increase homeownership opportunities for Vermonters
MIDDLEBURY, VT - With many Vermonters feeling stuck because of the increasing costs of homes and the dire lack of availability, officials announced a new program to build more moderately priced homes across the state. The Missing Middle-Income Homeownership Development Program will provide subsidies and incentives for home builders to construct or rehabilitate modest homes affordable to Vermont homebuyers at 120% of the area median household income or lower.
New First Generation Homebuyer Program Available
BURLINGTON, VT. Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) announces the launch of the First Generation Homebuyer Program, with a goal of helping more Vermonters afford their first home. This program provides a grant to eligible homebuyers whose parents or legal guardians were likely unable to pass on the generational wealth homeownership can provide.
"Owning a home stabilizes our families and our communities, and this is an important step toward making homeownership available to all Vermonters,” said State Senator Kesha Ram Hinsdale who introduced the initiative.
VHFA seeks public comment on Tax Credit Qualified Allocation Plan
Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) is seeking feedback and comments on the Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) that guides the agency in making housing tax credit allocation decisions. The Agency has opened the initial comment period and will close the period at 4:30pm on Monday August 15th, 2022. The current 2022-2023 QAP is available on VHFA’s website.
VHFA welcomes summer interns
VHFA has welcomed Madelyn Stoen and Minelle Sarfo-Adu to the Agency as summer interns.
University of Iowa graduate student Madelyn Stoen (she/her) has been named the Summer 2022 Vermont Housing Fellow. Stoen is pursuing a M.S. Urban and Regional Planning with a concentration in Community and Housing Development and an M.P.H. with a focus on Community and Behavioral Health. She has previously interned as an Eviction Prevention Specialist for Iowa’s emergency COVID-19 rental assistance program. She has a B.S. Global Health Studies and a B.A. Ethics and Public Policy from the University of Iowa.
Investing in housing will help marry growth with vibrancy
Vermont learned last month that its population grew by a slim 2.8% between 2010 and 2020, less than the national average of 7.4%. But by planning to invest millions in American Rescue Plan Act funds in homes and neighborhoods, Vermont policy makers have embraced the opportunity presented by this decade to accelerate community and economic vibrancy. Last week, the Vermont legislature ended its session with a proposed 2022 state budget allocation for housing of $190 million of these federal recovery funds.
Federal program would provide $8 million in annual tax credits to build and improve affordable owner homes in Vermont
The Biden administration’s American Jobs Plan includes a program that would bring $8 million in housing tax credits each year for affordable homeownership in Vermont. Unlike one-time stimulus programs also in the works, the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act (NHIA) would be an ongoing new federal tax credit generating new equity investment dollars for the development and renovation of starter homes in distressed and rural neighborhoods.