Vermont Governor Phil Scott and administration officials today announced a series of housing assistance programs to help landlords, renters and low-income homeowners who have been negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Republican Governor Phil Scott was joined by the Commissioner of Housing and Community Development, and the leaders of the Vermont State Housing Authority and the Vermont State Housing Finance Agency, to announce that $30 million in housing assistance is now available.
Housing and Community DevelopmentCommissioner Josh Hanford says the eviction and foreclosure moratorium that was put in place allowed people to stay home and safe during the pandemic but had other consequences. “Unfortunately not paying the rent or mortgage has very real consequences. Landlords depend on that rent to keep housing safe, to pay the utilities, to pay their own bills. Credit unions and banks need mortgage payments to stay in business and keep making new loans. The 25 million in rental assistance and 5 million in mortgage assistance being announced today is a step forward to address these serious issues.”
Vermont State Housing AuthorityExecutive Director Richard Williams noted that even before the pandemic more than half the renters in Vermont had housing costs exceeding the affordability standard of 30 percent of income. The funds approved by the Vermont Legislature will help provide stability to both renters and landlords. “The intent of this legislation is to prevent homelessness and evictions and to assist landlords who have also lost income and are facing hardship due to the pandemic.”
The Vermont Housing Finance Agency will administer the Mortgage Assistance Program. Executive Director Maura Collins says it will help prevent foreclosures for low-income homeowners by paying up to three months of payments directly to the loan provider. “Over 60 percent of Vermonters own their homes and owe money on a mortgage and many of them have been hit hard by the economic toll of the COVID crisis. This program will pay for up to three months of missed mortgage payments for households who faced economic hardship due to COVID-19 using federal funding from the CARES Act. We anticipate that there will not be enough funding for the applications that we expect. So we’ll be prioritizing those who have the lowest income and the highest risk of foreclosure.”
Governor Scott also announced that a pilot project is beginning with the hope it will extend testing capabilities. “Starting Monday and each Monday through July Kinney Drugs in Newport will offer testing as part of a pilot project. And Walgreen’s in Essex will also be offering testing for its customers later this month. I know others are considering doing the same. So right now I’m asking Vermont’s pharmacies and their parent companies to move as quickly as possible to join in this effort.”
The housing assistance programs were created through the legislature’s passage of legislation which allocates federal CARES Act funding to states.
