Vermont Human Rights Commission reports rising fair-housing caseload and limited staff resources

The Vermont Human Rights Commission told the Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee on April 1 that fair-housing complaints and enforcement actions have increased while the agency remains thinly staffed.

The commission’s executive director and general counsel, Vik Hartman, said the commission has seven employees and three statewide investigators and has logged 97 new fair-housing intakes so far in the current fiscal year. Hartman said the commission handled 16 commission determinations in fiscal 2024, finding reasonable grounds in seven cases, and currently has 48 open housing cases and 11 cases in litigation.

The commission “promote[s] full civil and human rights in Vermont,” Hartman said, describing the office’s work to investigate complaints, mediate where possible and litigate when conciliation fails. Hartman said investigators conduct recorded, live interviews, gather documents and produce investigative reports that commissioners review before making reasonable-grounds determinations.

Hartman told the committee the commission often brings cases involving landlords, owners and property managers and that many housing complaints involve requests for reasonable accommodations by people with disabilities, disparate treatment based on race or color, harassment creating a hostile housing environment, retaliation after a complaint, and refusals to rent to people receiving public assistance. Hartman cited “section 4503 of Title 9” when outlining Vermont’s statutory protected categories.

Hartman also warned of potential federal funding and processing changes tied to the commission’s contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He said HUD has signaled it will not process payments for some dual-filed cases involving gender-identity claims and that cuts at HUD’s Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity office could reduce the staff who process payments; the commission counts dual-file payments as roughly 10% of its budget. Hartman said the commission budgeted conservatively for fiscal year 2026 but could see a shortfall if HUD’s contract terms change.

The commission has added a full-time litigator position in the last two years; Hartman said the office’s litigation docket quickly filled once that capacity existed. He described one recent Supreme Court win against the town of St. Johnsbury that was remanded to Superior Court and said the office is working to develop state case law under Vermont’s fair-housing statute.

Hartman said the office lacks a dedicated intake specialist and that he has been answering calls since last summer; the commission has requested a funded intake position in the executive budget and, Hartman said, the House’s current budget includes that position. He described the office’s intake triage: of 97 new fair-housing intakes this fiscal year, 17 became complaints, 12 are under investigation and others remain pending draft or litigation.

Hartman urged the committee to emphasize education for landlords and housing providers, noting that some violations (for example, refusing housing to someone because they receive public assistance) remain common because landlords are unaware of state protections.

He closed by urging continued state-level enforcement as federal posture toward some protected classes changes and said the commission plans to keep building its investigative and litigation capacity to preserve state protections.