Since it was signed into law as part of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit) has become our nation’s most successful tool for building and preserving affordable rental housing. By providing an incentive for private sector investment, the Housing Credit has financed nearly 3 million apartments across the country for low-income workers, families, seniors, veterans, and those with special needs. It creates opportunities for the millions of families and individuals in our country today who otherwise would pay an excessive portion of their income for housing, live in substandard and overcrowded conditions, or face homelessness.
Housing policy
Beat election-year uncertainty with the inside scoop at the Vermont Statewide Housing Conference
Next week's Vermont Statewide Housing Conference will provide many opportunities to get your questions answered about how the election affects Vermont. Walk-in registration is available at the same initial low price so join us on November 14-15 at the Burlington Hilton.
A legislative breakfast reception on the 15th is devoted to connecting conference participants with at least 14 state legislators and staff from all 3 Vermont federal legislative offices. The winner of the Vermont governor's race has also been invited to speak at the conference.
VHFA seeks public input on state's most urgent rental housing needs
VHFA's Executive Director Sarah Carpenter announced today that interested parties are invited to submit comments on how housing tax credits are allocated. Housing tax credits are Vermont’s primary funding source for developing affordable rental housing. The comments will be considered during this year’s upcoming revisions to Vermont’s Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP). As administrator of the housing tax credit program, VHFA allocates credits to specific projects in accordance with identified State needs and Federal requirements outlined in the Vermont QAP. Vermont’s inter-agency Joint Committee on Tax Credits reviews allocation policies and process and makes recommendations on the QAP to VHFA’s Board of Commissioners.
White House releases housing development tool kit for communities
In response to declining housing affordability in many parts of the country, the White House released a report this week on best practices for reducing local housing development barriers. The accumulation of these barriers has reduced the ability of many housing markets to respond to growing demand, the report explains.
Rural housing finance: One size does not fit all
Unique features of rural housing require flexible national policies and financing programs, explains Executive Director Sarah Carpenter in her recent article for Rural Voices, a journal of the Housing Assistance Council.
Carpenter provides numerous examples of how the small-scale nature and sparce dispersion of the population in Vermont creates special challenges for financing owner and rental housing given recent trends toward more standardization of national mortgage finance practices.
Vermont housing leaders advise HUD Secretary on importance of federal support, coordination, flexibility and working effectively in rural areas
At the invitation of Senator Patrick Leahy, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro visited Burlington yesterday to meet with the state’s housing leaders and attend a ribbon-cutting at the new Bright Street affordable housing project.
Chittenden County leaders call for increased production of housing over next 5 years
Building Homes Together was launched yesterday. It is a collaboration of organizations and communities seeking to remedy some of the most pressing challenges in Chittenden County’s housing market.
“The housing shortage in Chittenden County has been well noted with unhealthy vacancy rates and high rents,” added Charlie Baker, Executive Director of the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission. “Employers can’t find workers, and workers themselves spend more time in commutes and with a higher percentage of their paychecks on housing costs.”
Together over 100 individuals representing local municipalities, institutions, employers, bankers, builders, and others -- including VHFA -- have signed on to support this effort.
Bipartisan Policy Center recommends new funding and approaches to meet housing needs of seniors
A recent report from the Bipartisan Policy Center describes the need for a comprehensive national approach to integrating health care and housing for seniors. To counteract the increasing number of vulnerable Americans experiencing hardship as they age, the report makes the following recommendations:
Expanding federal housing credits would help more Vermonters find affordable housing
Faced with increasing numbers of low-income renters who lack affordable housing, VHFA and our counterparts from other states are working together to support a bill developed by Washington State Senator Maria Cantwell. The bill calls for a substantial expansion of the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit—the primary financing mechanism for affordable rental housing for the last 30 years.
Legislature learns how to turn temporary down payment assistance program into self-funding tool for future home buyers
Vermont's House Committee on Ways and Means learned this morning about opportunities to transform a temporary statewide down payment assistance program enacted last year into a self-funding program that can help first-time home buyers for years to come. VHFA's Executive Director, Sarah Carpenter, met with the committee this morning to explain how a legacy program could be created with the addition of four years of state housing credit funding.