The final report of the Vermont Rental Housing Safety & Habitability Committee is available online.

VHFA Executive Director Sarah Carpenter chaired the 14-member committee over the last two years, and presented its recommendations to a legislative committee last week.

Read more about the initiative in our previous post, and download a copy of the report.

Thanks to J.D. Kantor Inc. for signing on to help sponsor the 2010 Vermont Statewide Housing Conference, coming Nov. 18.

The conference is the largest housing event in the state, taking place every other year.

Help make the ‘10 event a success, by becoming a sponsor: Contact Policy & Planning Manager Maura Collins.

Packages start at just $250, and all packages include logo placement at the official conference Web site.

The Vermont Economy Newsletter released its annual housing affordability analysis yesterday.

Its claim — that housing in Vermont is more affordable now than at any time since 2003 — is disputed by affordable housing advocates and organizations, such as VHFA.

WAMC North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley reported on the analysis yesterday, quoting the newsletter's primary author, Art Woolf; Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition's Erhard Mahnke; and VHFA Policy and Planning Manager Maura Collins.

Last Friday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network launched PreventLoanScams.org, a site where homeowners can report alleged scams.

"Homeowners at risk of foreclosure can be easy prey for home loan modification scammers. Troubled homeowners lose time and money when they are tricked by con artists who promise to help but never do,” said John Trasviña, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.