Senate committee reviews wide-ranging draft housing bill including VHIP changes, infrastructure fund and pilot programs

Cameron Wood, Office of Legislative Counsel, walked the Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee through a draft committee housing bill, describing program language changes, new statutory provisions and multiple funding requests the committee must consider before deciding what to send to the floor.

The draft combines amendments to the Vermont Rental Housing Improvement Program (VHIP), a permanent manufactured-home improvement and repair program, creation of a Vermont Bond Bank "Sustainability Fund" for water and sewer infrastructure, expansions or statutory placement of several Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) programs (including first-generation homebuyer and down payment assistance tax-credit provisions), a study committee on housing for people with developmental disabilities, a positive rental-payment reporting pilot, additions to fair-housing and public-accommodation protections, and brownfields and off-site construction provisions — together with appropriations and placeholders the committee will need to resolve.

Why it matters: Committee members said the package touches core housing production tools (grants/loans, infrastructure financing and tax credits), potential changes to eligibility and access rules for public dollars, and multiple new or expanded programs that would require separate appropriations and further administrative detail before enactment. The bill would affect landlords, tenants, municipalities and multiple state agencies if adopted.

Key Items and Details

Vermont Rental Housing Improvement Program (VHIP): The draft would amend VHIP eligibility and award structure. Under current program language discussed, an applicant could receive up to $50,000 for rehabilitation with up to an additional $20,000 for accessibility improvements; earlier language had a separate $70,000 cap for full accessibility projects. The administration proposes removing the 5-year forgivable loan option so awards would be either grants or 10-year forgivable loans. For grants, the draft would keep current lease/occupancy requirements (for example, leasing to individuals exiting homelessness or other prioritized groups). For the 10-year forgivable loan, the administration proposes dropping those occupancy requirements and instead require only that the unit be leased at a fair market rent as defined by a federal public source. Committee members described that change as "a substantial change" to how public funds are tied to tenant eligibility.

Manufactured Home Improvement and Repair Program: The draft moves an existing program from…