If you require information about VHIP awards given before 2024, please describe our initial VHIP page. The initial VHIP financing was sourced from State Fiscal Recovery Funds, which had various guidelines. The requirements and alternatives outlined here do NOT use to tasks authorized before March 25, 2024.

The Vermont Housing Improvement Program (VHIP) is relaunching as VHIP 2.0!
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Drawing from insights gained over the previous 3 years and more than 500 units funded, this upgraded program preserves our commitment to broadening affordable housing. VHIP 2.0 now provides awards for restricted brand-new building. Additionally, it presents a 10-year forgivable loan together with the existing 5-year grants, aiming to even more incentivize property managers. This new alternative needs leasing systems at reasonable market value without the need for recommendations from Coordinated Entry Organizations.

Table of Contents:

What can you do with VHIP 2.0 funding? How much funding are tasks 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 make with VHIP 2.0 financing?

VHIP 2.0 uses grants or forgivable loans to:

Rehabilitate existing uninhabited systems. Rehabilitate structural elements effecting several systems, such as the roof 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 units within an existing structure. Create a new structure with 5 or less residential units. Complete repairs required for code compliance in occupied systems (only qualified for 10 year forgivable loan)

Rehabilitation projects can consist of updates to satisfy housing codes, weatherization, and ease of access improvements, of qualified rental housing systems.

Just how much financing are jobs qualified for?

Based on the kind of task, residential or commercial property owners are eligible to receive up to:

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

Structural repair grant or loan awards are readily available for a maximum of $50,000 per award made for a residential or commercial property. For each structural award made, a rent-ready system in the exact same structure must be overloaded with a VHIP Covenant or FLA/Promissory Note. Contact your HOC or DHCD for more details and to discuss your job if you are considering structural repairs that impact more than one system.

What are the program requirements?

Program Match: All participants are required to provide a 20% match of the award, the choice for an in-kind match for unbilled services or owned products. For example, a participant who receives an award of $50,000 will be required to provide a $10,000 match.

Fair Market Rent: Participants are also needed to sign a rental covenant consenting to charge at or listed below HUD Fair Market Rent (FMR) or voucher amount for the length of the contract (5 or 10 years, find out more about these choices here). Participants will be needed to submit an annual recertification form to ensure they remain in compliance with the program requirements. To compute HUD FMR for your area, take a look at our resources on Fair Market Rent.

Landlord Education: VHIP 2.0 candidates should watch a Landlord-Tenant Mediation video and complete a Fair Housing Training as part of the application process. The Landlord-Tenant Mediation video is supplied by the Vermont Landlord Association (Please click on this link to view). The online, self-paced Fair Housing training is supplied by CVOEO. It includes a summary of state and federal anti-discrimination requirements, examples of prohibited housing discrimination and possible penalties, access requirements for individuals with specials needs, including affordable accommodations and sensible modifications, and best practices for housing service providers. This training will be validated through conclusion of a short quiz. Please click on this link to register. You will be asked to create an account on the Ruzuku finding out platform, then you'll have instant access to the training. If you experience any issues or have questions, please contact CVOEO at classcoord@cvoeo.org or 802-660-3455 ext. 205.

Tenant Selection: VHIP 2.0 participants have the right to choose their renters. However, the tenants they choose need to meet the program requirements, based on if they are enrolled in the 5- or 10-year tract (click here to read more). For residential or commercial properties enrolled in this program, the residential or commercial property owner may not require a credit history greater than 500, and participants are restricted to charging no more than one month's rent for a deposit, regardless of whether it is called a security deposit, a damage deposit or an animal deposit, last month's lease, and so on. Additionally, residential or commercial property owners must cover the cost of running background checks on possible occupants. Residential or commercial property owners are likewise needed to accept any housing vouchers that are offered to pay all, or a portion of, the tenant's rent and energies. Additionally, residential or commercial property owners need to accept paper applications for occupants with limited internet gain access to.

Out-of-State Owners: Out-of-State owners are needed to recognize a residential or commercial property supervisor situated within 50 miles of the systems to make sure a regional, responsible celebration can supervisor the residential or commercial property in the absence of the residential or commercial property owner.

5-Year Grant Versus 10 Loan

The primary distinction 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 comes with extra occupant choice requirements to lease to a home exiting homelessness

For more information specifics about these two options, evaluate the areas below.

5-Year Grants

Any residential or commercial property, with the exception of tenant inhabited systems dealing with code non-compliance issues, looking for VHIP 2.0 can choose to receive a 5-year grant. This compliance period will begin once the VHIP 2.0 system is positioned in service. This grant requires that:

The unit is leased at or listed below HUD Fair Market Rent for the location for a minimum of 5 years. That the residential or commercial property manager deal with Coordinated Entry Lead Organizations to discover appropriate tenants exiting homelessness for a minimum of 5 years or with USCRI to find refugee homes to rent the system to

Participants must sign a rental covenant to this result. This covenant will be effective for 5 years and states that for this duration, the system must remain a long-lasting leasing with a 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 released the grant determines that a household exiting homelessness is not readily available to rent the system, the property owner shall lease the system to a household with an earnings equivalent to or less than 80 percent of location median earnings. If such a household is not available, the residential or commercial property owner might rent the system to another home with the approval of the DHCD or HOC.

Grant to Loan Conversion: A property manager may transform a grant to a forgivable loan upon approval by DHCD and the HOC that approved the grant. When the grant is transformed to a forgivable loan, the residential or commercial property owner will get a 10% credit for loan forgiveness for each year in which the property owner participates 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 financing will be forgiven, and the forgivable loan terms would request 8 years.

Note. This only applies to jobs that received financing through VHIP 2.0. The initial VHIP funding was sourced from State Fiscal Recovery Funds, which had different policies. The requirements and options described here do NOT use to tasks approved before March 25, 2024, and those grants can NOT be transformed to forgivable loans.

10-Year Forgivable Loans

Any residential or commercial property getting VHIP 2.0 can decide to get a 10-year forgivable loan. This compliance period will begin when the VHIP 2.0 unit is positioned in service. This grant requires that the unit is leased at or listed below HUD Fair Market Rent for the location for a minimum of ten years. The owner should lease the system for 10 years at or below FMR to be forgiven in its whole. Funds will need 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 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 walks residential or commercial property owners through every action of the VHIP 2.0 process, from figuring out if the program is a great suitable for your job, how to use, payment disbursement, maintaining program requirements, to selling 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 website.

Since there are several job types VHIP 2.0 supports, the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are specific to the type of project applying for funding. To ask questions about your job, get in touch with your local 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 taking part in VHIP 2.0 are needed to charge leas at or listed 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 choice. FMRs routinely released by HUD represent the expense of leasing a moderately priced dwelling unit in the regional housing market.

Fair Market Rent Calculator - To use the calculator, you need to finish the energy worksheet, which shows which utilities the renter is responsible for payment. Once the utility worksheet is complete, the calculator will reveal the optimum allowable lease based upon the county the unit is situated in and the number of bedrooms.

Fair Market Rent Recertification Form - Residential or commercial property owners participating in VHIP 2.0 must send a yearly recertification form to ensure they abide by the program requirements, including FMR. While the program requirements are in impact, residential or commercial property owners will get an annual demand to complete the recertification kind. Residential or commercial property owners are encouraged to proactively finish this form upon turnover or lease renewal.

If you require support completing the recertification form or identifying FMR for your location, please connect with your local Homeownership Center or the State Housing Division (VHIP@vermont.gov).

More Questions?

As this program develops, the Department is working to increase availability and answer eligibility questions. Additional information and answers to frequently asked concerns will continue to be published to this website as readily available. Click on this link to join our e-mail list and keep up to date on Vermont Housing Improvement Program 2.0 updates and news.