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.

The Fair Housing Project of the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO) and statewide partners are hosting a number of events throughout the month. These include: 

The Vermont Department of Public Service (PSD) will soon begin updating Vermont's building energy codes, with the target effective date of Fall or Winter 2023. The code update process will include multiple opportunities for stakeholders to provide input and feedback.

Champlain Housing Trust (CHT) is now accepting applications for the Vermont Farmworker Housing Repair Loan Program. The program allows farm owners to make repairs and improvements to their farmworker housing to help improve the health and welfare of the farm workforce. The application deadline is April 29.

A 2021 report commissioned by the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB) estimates that there are around 600 dwellings housing about 2,000 hired farmworkers in Vermont, with the majority based in Addison, Franklin and Orleans Counties. 

This article was written by VHFA Spring Housing Fellow Christina Cramer

The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University recently published its annual report, America’s Rental Housing 2022, which thoroughly examines all aspects of the rental housing market. The study detailed the demographics of rental housing, rental housing stock, the rental markets, rental affordability, and the challenges associated with rental housing. The study suggests that federal support associated with the pandemic relief was beneficial to helping families remain in their homes, but finds that renters continue to face significant affordability challenges.