Vermont lawmakers hear Fair Housing testimonies as state agency reports rise in complaints

The House General & Housing Committee on May 20, 2025 heard testimony for Fair Housing Awareness Day as the Vermont Human Rights Commission and community advocates warned of growing housing discrimination complaints and urged state action.

The Human Rights Commission reported a marked rise in fair housing inquiries and said it has “almost doubled” the number of new fair housing complaints it accepted this year while operating with a staff of seven and limited funding.

The increase matters because the commission investigates alleged housing discrimination, decides whether there are reasonable grounds to proceed and — when appropriate — may bring enforcement actions in superior court. Fig Hartman, executive director and general counsel of the Vermont Human Rights Commission, told the committee the office follows federal guidance when resolving cases and that state law provides additional protections not found in federal statutes.

Hartman said the commission’s intake and investigative process is resource intensive. “We do not represent people. Individuals who are believing that their rights have been violated may file complaints with us, which we will investigate,” Hartman said. Hartman told lawmakers the commission has three staff attorney investigators who prepare comprehensive investigative reports for monthly review by commissioners and that most of the commission’s funding — about 90% — comes from the state general fund while roughly 10% is tied to HUD-funded fair housing processing.

Hartman outlined common categories of fair housing claims: requests for reasonable accommodations tied to disability (the most frequent), race- and color-based disparate treatment, hostile-environment claims involving harassment between neighbors, and retaliation for asserting housing rights. He noted certain protections under Vermont law that are not explicit under federal law — including gender identity and sexual orientation protections adopted in 2007 — and stressed that receipt of public assistance (for example, housing choice vouchers) is a state-protected category often at issue when landlords advertise “no Section 8” or similar restrictions.

Kalia Livingston, Fair Housing Project education and outreach coordinator at the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO), described the Fair Housing Project’s statewide outreach and training. CVOEO serves roughly 10,000 households (about 20,000 individuals) in northern Vermont across client-centered programs; its tenant hotline receives about 3,000 calls and emails annually, she said. “The Fair Housing Project is the only fair housing program in the state that is solely dedicated to outreach and education,” Livingston told the committee.

Livingston said the project offers fair housing workshops to tenants, housing providers and municipalities, and that more than 200 housing providers who receive Vermont Housing Improvement Program funds have completed training. She suggested several policy options for the Legislature, including requiring fair housing education when state funds support private housing development, explicitly protecting vulnerable groups identified in bill H-169, authorizing rent stabilization with protections for people on fixed incomes, and dedicating funds to reduce barriers to development that create perpetually affordable units.

The committee also heard a first-person account of housing instability. Donatell Vitale, a 16-year-old student who could not attend in person, submitted a statement read by Leo Beebe describing years of shelter stays and couch surfing. “I spent a few years of my early life living in homeless shelters and couch surfing with my mother,” the statement said, urging increased government spending and outreach to help families with children secure housing.

No formal committee votes were taken during the Fair Housing Awareness testimony; the panel moved next to agenda item H-173 after a brief break.

The testimony highlighted persistent enforcement and resource challenges for state and community fair housing programs, continuing disputes over federal policy direction, and specific policy ideas lawmakers may weigh in future housing bills.