Vermont Housing Improvement Program 2.0

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If you require info about VHIP awards granted before 2024, please refer to our initial VHIP page. The initial VHIP financing was sourced from State Fiscal Recovery Funds, which had various guidelines. The requirements and alternatives laid out here do NOT apply to jobs authorized before March 25, 2024.


The Vermont Housing Improvement Program (VHIP) is relaunching as VHIP 2.0!


Drawing from insights acquired over the past 3 years and more than 500 systems moneyed, this upgraded program preserves our commitment to broadening inexpensive housing. VHIP 2.0 now uses awards for restricted new building. Additionally, it presents a 10-year forgivable loan along with the existing 5-year grants, intending to even more incentivize property owners. This brand-new alternative requires leasing systems at fair market rates without the requirement for recommendations from Coordinated Entry Organizations.


Table of Contents:


What can you do with VHIP 2.0 funding?
Just how much financing are projects eligible for?
What are the program requirements?
5-Year Grant Versus 10-Year Forgivable Loan
VHIP 2.0 Documents Resource Guide for Residential Or Commercial Property Owners
Fair Market Rent (Recertification).
FAQ's.
Recertification.
VHIP Recipient List


Resource Guide for Residential Or Commercial Property Owners Program Stats


What can you do with VHIP 2.0 funding?


VHIP 2.0 provides grants or forgivable loans to:


Rehabilitate existing vacant units.
Rehabilitate structural elements effecting multiple units, such as the roofing of a multi-family residential or commercial property.
Develop a brand-new Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) on an owner-occupied residential or commercial property.
Create brand-new systems within an existing structure.
Create a brand-new structure with five or fewer residential units.
Complete repairs needed for code compliance in occupied systems (just qualified for ten years forgivable loan)


Rehabilitation projects can include updates to satisfy housing codes, weatherization, and accessibility improvements, of qualified rental housing units.


How much financing are tasks eligible for?


Based on the type of job, residential or commercial property owners are qualified to receive up to:


$ 30,000 per system for rehab of 0-2-bedroom units.
$ 50,000 per system for rehab of 3+ bedroom systems, structural elements impacting numerous systems *, new unit production, or development of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)


* Structural repair work grant or loan awards are offered for a maximum of $50,000 per award produced a residential or commercial property. For each structural award made, a rent-ready system in the same building must be overloaded with a or FLA/Promissory Note. Contact your HOC or DHCD for more information and to discuss your project if you are thinking about structural repair work that impact more than one system.


What are the program requirements?


Program Match: All individuals are needed to provide a 20% match of the award, the option for an in-kind match for unbilled services or owned products. For example, an individual who gets an award of $50,000 will be required to offer a $10,000 match.


Fair Market Rent: Participants are likewise needed to sign a rental covenant concurring to charge at or below HUD Fair Market Rent (FMR) or voucher amount for the length of the agreement (5 or 10 years, find out more about these options here). Participants will be needed to submit an annual recertification form to guarantee they remain in compliance with the program requirements. To compute HUD FMR for your location, have a look at our resources on Fair Market Rent.


Landlord Education: VHIP 2.0 applicants must enjoy a Landlord-Tenant Mediation video and complete a Fair Housing Training as part of the application procedure. The Landlord-Tenant Mediation video is provided by the Vermont Landlord Association (Please click here to see). The online, self-paced Fair Housing training is offered by CVOEO. It includes an introduction of state and federal anti-discrimination requirements, examples of prohibited housing discrimination and potential charges, gain access to requirements for people with impairments, including sensible lodgings and affordable modifications, and finest practices for housing suppliers. This training will be validated through conclusion of a brief quiz. Please click on this link to register. You will be asked to create an account on the Ruzuku discovering platform, then you'll have instant access to the training. If you experience any problems or have questions, please contact CVOEO at classcoord@cvoeo.org or 802-660-3455 ext. 205.


Tenant Selection: VHIP 2.0 participants can pick their renters. However, the occupants they pick need to fulfill the program requirements, based upon if they are enrolled in the 5- or 10-year system (click on this link for more information). For residential or commercial properties enrolled in this program, the residential or commercial property owner may not require a credit score higher than 500, and participants are limited to charging no greater than one month's rent for a deposit, despite whether it is called a down payment, a damage deposit or a family pet deposit, last month's lease, and so on. Additionally, residential or commercial property owners need to cover the expense of running background checks on potential occupants. Residential or commercial property owners are likewise required to accept any housing coupons that are available to pay all, or a part of, the occupant's lease and utilities. Additionally, residential or commercial property owners should accept paper applications for occupants with restricted web access.


Out-of-State Owners: Out-of-State owners are needed to identify a residential or commercial property supervisor located within 50 miles of the systems to guarantee a regional, accountable party can manager the residential or commercial property in the absence of the residential or commercial property owner.


5-Year Grant Versus 10-Year Forgivable Loan


The main difference in between the 5-year grant and the 10-year forgivable loans are:


- The duration for which the residential or commercial property owner must charge at or listed below HUD Fair Market Rent for the enrolled systems (5 v ten years).
The 5-year grant option includes additional tenant selection requirements to lease to a family exiting homelessness


To learn more specifics about these 2 alternatives, review the areas below.


5-Year Grants


Any residential or commercial property, with the exception of tenant occupied units dealing with code non-compliance issues, applying for VHIP 2.0 can choose to get a 5-year grant. This compliance duration will start when the VHIP 2.0 unit is positioned in service. This grant requires that:


The system is leased at or listed below HUD Fair Market Rent for the location for at least 5 years.
That the residential or commercial property supervisor deal with Coordinated Entry Lead Organizations to find appropriate renters leaving homelessness for at least 5 years or with USCRI to discover refugee homes to rent the system to


Participants must sign a rental covenant to this impact. This covenant will work for 5 years and states that for this period, the system needs to stay a long-term rental with a regular monthly rental rate at or listed below HUD Fair Market Rent and that the Department of Housing and Community Development must approve the sale of the residential or commercial property.


Tenant Selection: If the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) or the Homeownership Center (HOC) that issued the grant determines that a family leaving homelessness is not offered to lease the system, the landlord shall rent the unit to a family with an earnings equal to or less than 80 percent of location median income. If such a household is unavailable, the residential or commercial property owner may rent the unit to another family with the approval of the DHCD or HOC.


Grant to Loan Conversion: A proprietor may convert a grant to a forgivable loan upon approval by DHCD and the HOC that approved the grant. When the grant is converted to a forgivable loan, the residential or commercial property owner shall get a 10% credit for loan forgiveness for each year in which the property manager takes part in the grant program. For example, if the residential or commercial property owner took part in the grant program for 2 years prior to transforming to a forgivable 20% of the funding will be forgiven, and the forgivable loan terms would make an application for 8 years.


Note. This only applies to projects that received financing through VHIP 2.0. The initial VHIP funding was sourced from State Fiscal Recovery Funds, which had various regulations. The requirements and alternatives laid out here do NOT use to tasks authorized before March 25, 2024, and those grants can NOT be transformed to forgivable loans.


10-Year Forgivable Loans


Any residential or commercial property making an application for VHIP 2.0 can choose to receive a 10-year forgivable loan. This compliance duration will begin once the VHIP 2.0 unit is put in service. This grant needs that the unit is rented at or listed below HUD Fair Market Rent for the area for a minimum of ten years. The owner must rent the system for ten years at or listed below FMR to be forgiven in its entirety. Funds will require to be paid back to the State of Vermont for every year this requirement is not satisfied i.e. if an owner only leases the unit for 7 years at or listed below FMR, 3 years (30%) of funding will not be forgiven.


VHIP Documents


General Documents


VHIP 2.0 Resource Guide for Residential Or Commercial Property Owners - This thorough guide strolls residential or commercial property owners through every action of the VHIP 2.0 process, from figuring out if the program is an excellent suitable for your project, how to apply, payment dispensation, keeping program requirements, to offering a VHIP 2.0 residential or commercial property.


VHIP 2.0 Recipient List - The identity of VHIP recipients and the amount of a grant or forgivable loan are public records and are published quarterly on this site.


Since there are numerous project types VHIP 2.0 supports, the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) specify to the type of task making an application for financing. To ask questions about your task, link with your regional homeownership center.


Rehabilitation or Conversion of Unoccupied Units
Accessory Dwelling Units
New Unit Creation (within a new structure).
Rehabilitation of Occupied Units


Fair Market Rent & Recertification


All residential or commercial property owners getting involved in VHIP 2.0 are needed to charge rents at or below HUD Fair Market Rent (FMR) for the length of the contract, depending upon whether the residential or commercial property owner selects the 5-year grant or 10-year forgivable loan option. FMRs frequently published by HUD represent the expense of renting a moderately priced house unit in the local housing market.


Fair Market Rent Calculator - To utilize the calculator, you should finish the energy worksheet, which indicates which utilities the tenant is responsible for payment. Once the energy worksheet is total, the calculator will show the optimum allowable rent based on the county the system lies in and the variety of bedrooms.


Fair Market Rent Recertification Form - Residential or commercial property owners taking part in VHIP 2.0 should send an annual recertification form to ensure they adhere to the program requirements, including FMR. While the program requirements are in effect, residential or commercial property owners will get a yearly request to finish the recertification kind. Residential or commercial property owners are encouraged to proactively complete this kind upon turnover or lease renewal.


If you need support completing the recertification type or figuring out FMR for your area, please contact your local Homeownership Center or the State Housing Division (VHIP@vermont.gov).
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More Questions?


As this program grows, the Department is working to increase availability and response eligibility concerns. Additional info and answers to often asked concerns will continue to be posted to this site as readily available. Click on this link to join our email list and keep up to date on Vermont Housing Improvement Program 2.0 updates and news.