Last week, the state increased funding for affordable homeownership when Governor Phil Scott signed a bill passed by the Legislature which will add over a million dollars for homeowners in Vermont.

Revenue Bill H.541 increases the Vermont Affordable Housing Tax Credit program by $250,000 for FY20. This increase is expected to result in just under $1.2 million more for affordable homeownership initiatives once the tax credits are sold to investors.

Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) will be holding a series of outreach meetings to seek comments on the draft 2020 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP). The QAP is a compilation of IRS mandates, national best practices and state housing priorities that sets eligibility and criteria for awarding state and federal tax credits to developers of affordable housing.

The Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) is now accepting applications for 2019 for two different programs that promote development and revitalization of Vermont’s downtowns.

Newly released data from the 2019 Point-in-Time Count showed 1,089 people experiencing homelessness in Vermont on a single evening this winter, which represents a 16 percent decrease from last year. However, the number of chronically homeless Vermonters increased substantially from 2018 to 2019, prompting concerns that existing services may be inadequate to support homeless households.