Vermont Public Radio (VPR) has put online yesterday's "Vermont Edition" program covering the topic of subsidized housing units in Vermont at risk of expiring.
VHFA Executive Sarah Carpenter was a guest on the show.
The station's also put online a story reported by "Vermont Edition" Producer Patti Daniels and culled from yesterday's program.
Listen to "Vermont Edition" online and hear Daniels's report, too.
The expiration of affordable units in Vermont has gotten quite a bit of media attention lately. The focus has been Wharf Lane and Bobbin Mill apartments, two Burlington buildings about to be purchased by Burlington Housing Authority, which will retain their affordable status.
Information broadcast on VPR yesterday was accurate, but some inaccuracies have circulated elsewhere: Namely, 2,600 units of affordable housing are about to expire next month.
That's not true.
There are 2,600 affordable housing units in Vermont that have contracts expiring between 2009 and 2018. While these units are vulnerable to being sold and converted to condominiums or market rate rentals, VHFA believes there're considerably less — 500 units in approximately a dozen projects — where market conditions actually place the units in reasonable danger.
And even those are not all set to expire in March.
"Only two projects — 20 units — have successfully opted out of expiring HAP (Housing Assistance Payments) contracts and converted to market rent," according to VHFA Director of Multifamily Programs Sam Falzone. "All other expiring contracts have been renewed by private and non-profit owners with contract terms typically from five to 20 years.
"In part, the reason for this renewal success can be traced to the incentives HUD has provided in their Section 8 Renewal Guide and the extensive preservation work that's occurred over the past 20 years by VHFA and VHCB (Vermont Housing & Conservation Board) using Preservation Agreements and Housing Subsidy Covenants."
VHFA and Vermont's other housing organizations will continue to work diligently to preserve the state's stock of affordable housing.