1 Vermont Housing Improvement Program 2.0

Raquel Braine edited this page 2025-06-18 20:42:41 -06:00

If you require information about VHIP awards given before 2024, please refer to our original VHIP page. The initial VHIP financing was sourced from State Fiscal Recovery Funds, which had various regulations. The requirements and choices described 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 gained over the past 3 years and more than 500 systems moneyed, this upgraded program keeps our dedication to expanding budget friendly housing. VHIP 2.0 now provides awards for minimal brand-new building. Additionally, it presents a 10-year forgivable loan alongside the existing 5-year grants, aiming to even more incentivize property managers. This new alternative needs leasing units at fair market prices without the requirement for referrals from Coordinated Entry Organizations.

Tabulation:

What can you make with VHIP 2.0 financing? How much funding are jobs 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 components effecting multiple units, 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 new systems within an existing structure. Create a new structure with 5 or fewer domestic units. Complete repairs essential for code compliance in occupied systems (only eligible for 10 year forgivable loan)

Rehabilitation projects can include updates to meet housing codes, weatherization, and ease of access improvements, of qualified rental housing units.

How much funding are tasks qualified for?

Based on the type of project, residential or commercial property owners are eligible to get as much as:

$ 30,000 per unit for rehab of 0-2-bedroom units. $ 50,000 per system for rehab of 3+ bed room systems, structural elements affecting several systems , new system creation, or development of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)

Structural repair grant or loan awards are readily 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 same building must be overloaded with a VHIP Covenant or FLA/Promissory Note. Contact your HOC or DHCD for more information and to discuss your project if you are considering structural repairs that impact more than one system.

What are the program requirements?

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

Fair Market Rent: Participants are likewise required to sign a rental covenant accepting charge at or listed below HUD Fair Market Rent (FMR) or voucher amount for the length of the agreement (5 or 10 years, discover more about these alternatives here). Participants will be required to submit a yearly recertification form to ensure they remain in compliance with the program requirements. To compute HUD FMR for your location, examine out our resources on Fair Market Rent.

Landlord Education: VHIP 2.0 candidates must watch 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 overview of state and federal anti-discrimination requirements, examples of illegal housing discrimination and prospective charges, access requirements for individuals with disabilities, consisting of affordable lodgings and sensible modifications, and best practices for housing suppliers. This training will be validated through conclusion of a short quiz. 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 questions, please contact CVOEO at classcoord@cvoeo.org or 802-660-3455 ext. 205.

Tenant Selection: VHIP 2.0 participants have the right to pick their renters. However, the renters they pick should meet the program requirements, based on if they are enrolled in the 5- or 10-year system (click here for more information). For residential or commercial properties enrolled in this program, the residential or commercial property owner may not need a credit history higher than 500, and participants are limited to charging no more than one month's rent for a deposit, regardless of whether it is called a down payment, a damage deposit or a family pet deposit, last month's rent, and so on. Additionally, residential or commercial property owners should cover the expense of running background examine prospective occupants. Residential or commercial property owners are also needed to accept any housing coupons that are readily available to pay all, or a part of, the tenant's lease and utilities. Additionally, residential or commercial property owners need to accept paper applications for occupants with minimal web access.

Out-of-State Owners: Out-of-State owners are required to identify a residential or commercial property manager located within 50 miles of the units to ensure a local, responsible 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 need to charge at or listed below HUD Fair Market Rent for the registered systems (5 v 10 years). The 5-year grant option includes additional occupant selection requirements to lease to a family leaving homelessness

To find out more specifics about these 2 choices, evaluate the areas listed below.

5-Year Grants

Any residential or commercial property, with the exception of occupant inhabited systems resolving code non-compliance issues, obtaining VHIP 2.0 can choose to get a 5-year grant. This compliance duration will begin when the VHIP 2.0 unit is put in service. This grant requires that:

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

Participants should sign a rental covenant to this impact. This covenant will be reliable for 5 years and states that for this period, the unit needs to remain a long-lasting leasing with a monthly rental rate at or listed below HUD Fair Market Rent which the Department of Housing and Community Development need to authorize 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 figures out that a family exiting homelessness is not offered to rent the unit, the property manager shall lease the system to a household with an earnings equal to or less than 80 percent of location typical earnings. If such a family is unavailable, the residential or commercial property owner might rent the unit to another household 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 get a 10% credit for loan forgiveness for each year in which the landlord 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 converting to a forgivable 20% of the financing will be forgiven, and the forgivable loan terms would use for 8 years.

Note. This only applies to projects that received financing through VHIP 2.0. The preliminary VHIP funding was sourced from State Fiscal Recovery Funds, which had various policies. The requirements and choices detailed here do NOT apply to jobs authorized before March 25, 2024, and those grants can NOT be transformed to forgivable loans.

10-Year Forgivable Loans

Any residential or commercial property obtaining VHIP 2.0 can opt to get a 10-year forgivable loan. This compliance period will start as soon as the VHIP 2.0 system is put in service. This grant needs that the system is leased at or below HUD Fair Market Rent for the area for at least 10 years. The owner should rent the unit for 10 years at or listed below FMR to be forgiven in its entirety. Funds will need to be repaid to the State of Vermont for every single year this requirement is not fulfilled i.e. if an owner just 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 extensive guide walks residential or commercial property owners through every action of the VHIP 2.0 process, from identifying if the program is a great suitable for your task, how to apply, payment dispensation, 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 amount of a grant or forgivable loan are public records and are on this site.

Since there are several task types VHIP 2.0 assistances, the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) specify to the kind of project getting funding. To ask questions about your project, link with your regional homeownership center.

Rehabilitation or Conversion of Unoccupied Units Accessory Dwelling Units New Unit Creation (within a brand-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 leas 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 choice. FMRs regularly published by HUD represent the cost of renting a moderately priced house system in the regional housing market.

Fair Market Rent Calculator - To use the calculator, you should complete the energy worksheet, which indicates which utilities the renter is accountable for payment. Once the energy worksheet is complete, the calculator will reveal the optimum allowed rent based upon the county the unit lies in and the variety of bed rooms.

Fair Market Rent Recertification Form - Residential or commercial property owners taking part in VHIP 2.0 needs to send an annual recertification kind to ensure they comply with the program requirements, consisting of FMR. While the program requirements are in effect, residential or commercial property owners will get a yearly request to finish the recertification type. Residential or commercial property owners are motivated to proactively finish this type upon turnover or lease renewal.

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

As this program matures, the Department is working to increase accessibility and answer eligibility concerns. Additional information and responses to regularly asked concerns will continue to be published to this website as readily available. Click on this link to join our email list and remain up to date on Vermont Housing Improvement Program 2.0 updates and news.
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