If you need info about VHIP awards approved before 2024, please refer to our original VHIP page. The initial VHIP financing was sourced from State Fiscal Recovery Funds, which had different guidelines. The requirements and alternatives outlined here do NOT use to projects approved before March 25, 2024.

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

Drawing from insights got over the past 3 years and more than 500 units funded, this updated program preserves our commitment to expanding budget-friendly housing. VHIP 2.0 now uses awards for minimal brand-new building and construction. Additionally, it introduces a 10-year forgivable loan together with the existing 5-year grants, aiming to even more incentivize property managers. This brand-new alternative requires leasing units at fair market value without the need for referrals from Coordinated Entry Organizations.

Table of Contents:

What can you do with VHIP 2.0 funding?
Just how much funding are jobs qualified 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 uninhabited units.
Rehabilitate structural aspects effecting multiple systems, such as the roofing of a multi-family residential or commercial property.
Develop a new Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) on an owner-occupied residential or commercial property.
Create new units within an existing structure.
Create a new structure with 5 or fewer residential systems.
Complete repairs required for code compliance in occupied units (just qualified for ten years forgivable loan)

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

How much financing are jobs eligible for?

Based on the type of project, residential or commercial property owners are eligible to receive approximately:

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

* Structural repair grant or loan awards are available for an optimum of $50,000 per award made for a residential or commercial property. For each structural award made, a rent-ready unit in the very same building must be encumbered with a VHIP Covenant or FLA/Promissory Note. Contact your HOC or DHCD for more information and to discuss your task if you are thinking about structural repairs that affect more than one unit.

What are the program requirements?

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

Fair Market Rent: Participants are likewise required to sign a rental covenant accepting charge at or below HUD Fair Market Rent (FMR) or voucher amount for the length of the arrangement (5 or ten years, discover more about these options here). Participants will be needed to send an annual recertification kind to guarantee they are in compliance with the program requirements. To compute HUD FMR for your area, have a look at our resources on Fair Market Rent.

Landlord Education: VHIP 2.0 applicants must see a Landlord-Tenant Mediation video and finish a Fair Housing Training as part of the application procedure. The Landlord-Tenant Mediation video is provided by the Vermont Landlord Association (Please click on this link to see). The online, self-paced Fair Housing training is offered by CVOEO. It consists of an introduction of state and federal anti-discrimination requirements, examples of unlawful housing discrimination and possible charges, access requirements for people with specials needs, consisting of reasonable accommodations and reasonable adjustments, and finest practices for housing companies. This training will be validated through conclusion of a short test. Please click on this link to sign up. You will be asked to produce an account on the Ruzuku learning platform, then you'll have immediate access to the training. If you experience any problems or have concerns, please contact CVOEO at classcoord@cvoeo.org or 802-660-3455 ext. 205.

Tenant Selection: VHIP 2.0 individuals can pick their tenants. However, the renters they pick must fulfill the program requirements, based upon if they are enrolled in the 5- or 10-year tract (click here to find out more). For residential or commercial properties registered in this program, the residential or commercial property owner might not need a credit rating greater than 500, and individuals are limited to charging no more than one month's lease for a deposit, despite whether it is called a down payment, a damage deposit or a pet deposit, last month's rent, and so on. Additionally, residential or commercial property owners should cover the cost of running background look at prospective tenants. Residential or commercial property owners are also required to accept any housing coupons that are available 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 renters with minimal internet gain access to.

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

5-Year Grant Versus 10-Year Forgivable Loan

The primary distinction in between the 5-year grant and the 10-year forgivable loans are:

- The period for which the residential or commercial property owner should charge at or listed below HUD Fair Market Rent for the enrolled units (5 v ten years).
The 5-year grant alternative comes with extra renter choice requirements to lease to a family exiting homelessness

To get more information specifics about these two alternatives, examine the areas listed below.

5-Year Grants

Any residential or commercial property, with the exception of tenant occupied systems dealing with code non-compliance problems, obtaining VHIP 2.0 can opt to get a 5-year grant. This compliance period will begin once the VHIP 2.0 system is positioned in service. This grant needs that:

The system is rented at or listed below HUD Fair Market Rent for the location for at least 5 years.
That the residential or commercial property manager deal with Coordinated Entry Lead Organizations to find suitable renters exiting homelessness for a minimum of 5 years or with USCRI to find refugee homes to lease the unit to

Participants must sign a rental covenant to this result. This covenant will work for 5 years and states that for this period, the system needs to remain a long-lasting rental with a month-to-month rental rate at or 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 identifies that a family leaving homelessness is not readily available to lease the unit, the property manager shall lease the unit to a household with an income equivalent to or less than 80 percent of area average earnings. If such a home is unavailable, the residential or commercial property owner might lease the system to another family with the approval of the DHCD or HOC.

Grant to Loan Conversion: A property manager might transform a grant to a forgivable loan upon approval by DHCD and the HOC that authorized the grant. When the grant is converted to a forgivable loan, the residential or commercial property owner will receive a 10% credit for loan forgiveness for each year in which the property manager takes part in the grant program. For instance, if the residential or commercial property owner took part in the grant program for 2 years prior to converting to a forgivable 20% of the financing will be forgiven, and the forgivable loan terms would get 8 years.

Note. This only uses to tasks that received financing through VHIP 2.0. The initial VHIP financing was sourced from State Fiscal Recovery Funds, which had various guidelines. The requirements and choices detailed here do NOT apply to projects authorized before March 25, 2024, and those grants can NOT be converted to forgivable loans.

10-Year Forgivable Loans

Any residential or commercial property applying for VHIP 2.0 can choose to get a 10-year forgivable loan. This compliance duration will begin when the VHIP 2.0 unit is positioned in service. This grant requires that the system is leased at or below HUD Fair Market Rent for the location for at least 10 years. The owner should rent the system for 10 years at or listed below FMR to be forgiven in its totality. Funds will require to be paid back to the State of Vermont for every year this requirement is not met 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 in-depth guide walks residential or commercial property owners through every step of the VHIP 2.0 process, from identifying if the program is a good suitable for your job, how to apply, payment disbursement, maintaining program requirements, to selling a VHIP 2.0 residential or commercial property.

VHIP 2.0 Recipient List - The identity of VHIP receivers and the quantity of a grant or forgivable loan are public records and are published quarterly on this website.

Since there are a number of project types VHIP 2.0 supports, the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) specify to the kind of project getting funding. To ask concerns about your project, link 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 required to charge rents at or listed below HUD Fair Market Rent (FMR) for the length of the arrangement, depending on whether the residential or commercial property owner selects the 5-year grant or 10-year forgivable loan alternative. FMRs frequently released by HUD represent the cost of renting a moderately priced home unit in the regional housing market.

Fair Market Rent Calculator - To utilize the calculator, you need to finish the energy worksheet, which indicates which utilities the occupant is responsible for payment. Once the utility worksheet is total, the calculator will reveal the optimum allowed rent based on the county the unit lies in and the number of bed rooms.

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

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

More Questions?

As this program grows, the Department is working to increase availability and response eligibility concerns. Additional information and answers to often asked concerns will continue to be published to this site as readily available. Click here to join our e-mail list and remain up to date on Vermont Housing Improvement Program 2.0 updates and news.