VHFA staff recently analyzed income data of 5,068 tenants of subsidized rental housing in Vermont. The results confirm Vermont's housing organizations are helping those who are truly in need.
As seen above, 61% of tenants of Vermont's assisted rental units have incomes below $20,000; 74% have incomes below $25,000. Not surprisingly, the incomes of households in Section 8 assisted housing were dramatically less than non-Section 8 housing.
Income for purposes of this review was gross income with no adjustments for medical, disability, or other HUD-eligible expenses; or reductions in family income because of outlays for child support or alimony.
48% of all tenants’ incomes in Vermont's assisted units earned less than 30% of the Area Median Income (AMI). Despite the fact all of these units were funded with Federal Housing Tax Credits, which allows tenants to earn up to 60% of AMI, only 8% of tenants actually earned that much.
This analysis matched almost exactly with a similar exercise done in 2002 of 1,500 VHFA and Vermont Housing Conservation Board (VHCB) funded projects as can be seen in the table below:
The majority of residents are paying approximately 30% of their income for rent, the maximum that allows a property to be considered "affordable." 879 residents (17%) are paying more than 40% of their income for rent, while 327 (6%) are paying less than 20% of their income for rent.
There are often situational reasons for both sets of extremes. 69% of the households paying less than 30% of their income for rent are Section 8 tenants. That program sets rents based on adjusted income that allows a tenant to pay less than 30% of their gross income for rent. Other programs, such as VHCB funding and Federal Tax Credits, use a gross income figure.
