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DHCD: VHIP has produced nearly 500 units and manufactured-housing grants have repaired hundreds of mobile homes
Summary
Sean Gilpin, director of the housing division, told the committee the Vermont Housing Improvement Program (VHIP) has brought roughly 499 units online, has hundreds more in the pipeline, is fully subscribed, and that the Manufactured Housing Improvement and Repair (MRR) program has issued more than 326 home-repair grants for mobile-home residents.
MONTPELIER, Vt. — Sean Gilpin, director of the Housing Division at the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development, told the House Committee on General and Housing on Jan. 16 that the agency's VHIP program and manufactured-housing grants are producing housing quickly and addressing deteriorating homes in mobile-home parks.
VHIP: rapid unit creation
Gilpin described the Vermont Housing Improvement Program (VHIP) as a rapid-response tool that partners with five regional homeownership centers to identify underutilized private properties and bring them up to habitable code. Grants are designed for modest, targeted repairs or conversions rather than full-scale new construction.
Key VHIP details described in testimony:
- Grants of up to $50,000 per unit are available today; DHCD is working to expand an elevated limit for specific accessibility projects. - Program match requirement: a minimum 20% local match; observed matches often exceed 100% in practice. - Affordability options: property owners choose between a 5-year rental commitment that must house someone exiting homelessness or an equivalent referral population, or a 10-year affordability restriction without the homelessness-referral requirement. - Units online and pipeline: Gilpin reported about 499 units have come online and roughly 450 more were in the pipeline; the program is fully subscribed in every county and homeownership centers maintain waiting lists. - Average grant: DHCD reported an average VHIP grant of about $37,000 per unit.
Gilpin said the program's design intentionally does not require perpetual affordability; the shorter (5- or 10-year) restrictions are calibrated to make otherwise-unfeasible renovations financeable.
Manufactured housing (MRR) and mobile-home parks
Gilpin also reviewed the Manufactured Housing Improvement and Repair (MRR) program, which assists residents and parks through three primary uses: 1) home repair grants for individual homeowners, 2) removal of abandoned homes to free lots for new homes, and 3) assistance for homeowners buying new manufactured homes and installing engineered foundations.
Key MRR details from testimony:
- The department said there are about 238 mobile-home parks in the state and that manufactured homes make up roughly 7% of Vermont's housing stock (figure cited in testimony). - DHCD reported it has issued more than 326 home-repair grants under the program to address issues such as roofing, water intrusion, windows and accessibility modifications; energy upgrades and weatherization are encouraged for grant recipients.
Follow-up and notes
Gilpin told the committee the VHIP program started in 2021, and that the first cohort of units is approaching the end of initial affordability commitments; DHCD plans to survey those owners and tenants to learn the longer-term outcomes. He also said the agency encourages stacking VHIP or MRR funds with other programs such as weatherization and vouchers to increase long-term stability.
Ending
Gilpin said the VHIP and MRR programs are intended to be rapid tools that bring modest units online quickly and preserve housing stock while the state pursues longer-term production strategies.
