Events

Planning has begun for the 2022 Statewide Housing Conference. After cancelling the conference in 2020, resuming this in-person, biennial conference feels like a welcome step out of the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic towards Vermont’s “new normal.” 

April is Fair Housing Month, an opportunity to celebrate the anniversary of the passage of the 1968 Federal Fair Housing Act, while also increasing our efforts to end housing discrimination, expand housing opportunity and raise awareness of housing rights.

In the newest installment of VHFA's housing video series, VHFA Executive Director Maura Collins interviews Vermont Housing & Conservation Board Policy Director Jennifer Hollar on how federal American Rescue Plan Act pandemic recovery funding is being used to create new affordable homes for Vermonters. 

There's still time to register for the statewide full-day Housing Summit on Wednesday, October 13 in Arlington. VHFA will join other experts in sharing case studies and best practices to promote affordable housing development. Municipal officials, housing developers, nonprofits, legislators and anyone having an interest in supporting the development of quality housing is encouraged to attended.

Housing leaders statewide have partnered to host a full-day Housing Summit on Wednesday, October 13 in Arlington. Municipal officials, housing developers, nonprofits, legislators and anyone having an interest in supporting the development of quality housing is encouraged to attended. 

VHFA is gathering input and data regarding two components of the Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) slated to open later this year. HAF was created by the federal American Rescue Plan Act to provide relief for homeowners experiencing financial hardship after January 2020.

In 2020 Vermont’s Energy Action Network formed a Weatherization at Scale action team, with the goal of weatherizing every home owned or rented by low-to-moderate income Vermonters by 2030. The coalition, which includes Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA), successfully urged Vermont lawmakers and the Governor to invest more than $20 million towards weatherization in the FY 2022 state budget.

VHFA will be hosting two public meetings on June 1 and June 3 to discuss how to use federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to serve Vermont homeowners. The Homeowners Assistance Fund, created by the act, will provide Vermont up to $50 million over the next 3 years to provide assistance for mortgage payments and other expenses troubling homeowners with pandemic-related hardship.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston (FHLBB)'s 2021 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) will begin to accept applications on June 7. The program will award grants and low-interest loans through member institutions to organizations promoting homeownership and rental housing opportunities for low income households.

By 2030, the Upper Valley region will need to triple the pace of home building and conversions to meet projected demand from existing and future residents, according to the collaborative Keys to the Valley initiative. About one-third of the region’s households are cost burdened by paying more than 30% of their income for their housing.