Every other November after Election Day for the past 20 years, the Vermont Statewide Housing Conference has drawn hundreds of Vermonters interested in affordable housing together.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has made the outlook for large events in 2020 highly uncertain. For this reason, the multi-agency committee responsible for planning this popular conference has decided not to proceed with the conference slated for November 2020.
Vermont has received over 71,000 unemployment claims since the coronavirus pandemic reached the state. An economic recession is almost certainly forthcoming. This economic disruption will impact Vermont’s housing markets and households, but the full effects will depend on the duration of the coronavirus outbreak.
Unemployment
To help re-house Vermonters in living quarters rendered unsafe by COVID-19, owners and managers of Vermont's subsidized apartments are encouraged to list all vacancies on the Vermont Housing Data website. In addition to Vermonters who find themselves in need of rental housing, HUD and FEMA both use this vacancy list to coordinate disaster recovery.
The Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) Board of Commissioners announced yesterday that its annual allocation of federal housing tax credits will support the development of 130 permanently affordable apartments in five communities across the state.