If you need information 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 different regulations. The requirements and alternatives described here do NOT apply to tasks approved before March 25, 2024.
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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 keeps our dedication to broadening economical housing. VHIP 2.0 now provides awards for restricted brand-new construction. Additionally, it presents a 10-year forgivable loan alongside the existing 5-year grants, aiming to even more incentivize proprietors. This brand-new alternative requires leasing units at fair market prices without the requirement for referrals from Coordinated Entry Organizations.

Tabulation:

What can you finish with VHIP 2.0 funding? How much financing 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 do with VHIP 2.0 funding?

VHIP 2.0 provides grants or forgivable loans to:

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

Rehabilitation jobs can include updates to fulfill housing codes, weatherization, and availability improvements, of qualified rental housing units.

How much funding are jobs qualified for?

Based on the kind of task, 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 rehabilitation of 3+ bed room units, structural components impacting several systems , new system development, or production of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)

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

What are the program requirements?

Program Match: All participants are needed to provide a 20% match of the award, the option for an in-kind match for unbilled services or owned materials. 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 needed to sign a rental covenant consenting to charge at or listed below HUD Fair Market Rent (FMR) or coupon amount for the length of the contract (5 or 10 years, learn more about these alternatives here). Participants will be needed to submit an annual recertification type to guarantee they remain in compliance with the program requirements. To compute HUD FMR for your area, have a look at our resources on Fair Market Rent.

Education: VHIP 2.0 applicants should see 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 on this link to see). The online, self-paced Fair Housing training is offered by CVOEO. It consists of an overview of state and federal anti-discrimination requirements, examples of unlawful housing discrimination and potential penalties, access requirements for individuals with disabilities, including reasonable accommodations and reasonable modifications, and best practices for housing suppliers. This training will be validated through completion of a brief quiz. Please click on this link to sign up. You will be asked to produce an account on the Ruzuku finding out platform, then you'll have instant access to the training. If you experience any issues or have concerns, please contact CVOEO at classcoord@cvoeo.org or 802-660-3455 ext. 205.

Tenant Selection: VHIP 2.0 participants deserve to choose their renters. However, the tenants they choose should meet the program requirements, based upon if they are registered in the 5- or 10-year system (click here to learn more). For residential or commercial properties enrolled in this program, the residential or commercial property owner may not need a credit report higher 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 an animal deposit, last month's lease, and so on. Additionally, residential or commercial property owners need to cover the cost of running background examine potential occupants. Residential or commercial property owners are likewise needed 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 should accept paper applications for tenants with restricted internet access.

Out-of-State Owners: Out-of-State owners are required to determine a residential or commercial property supervisor located within 50 miles of the systems to make sure a regional, responsible party can manager the residential or commercial property in the lack of the residential or commercial property owner.

5-Year Grant Versus 10-Year Forgivable 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 need to charge at or below HUD Fair Market Rent for the registered systems (5 v 10 years). The 5-year grant alternative comes with additional renter selection requirements to lease to a household exiting homelessness

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

5-Year Grants

Any residential or commercial property, with the exception of occupant inhabited systems attending to code non-compliance problems, requesting VHIP 2.0 can choose to receive a 5-year grant. This compliance period will start once the VHIP 2.0 system is placed 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 work with Coordinated Entry Lead Organizations to discover ideal occupants exiting homelessness for a minimum of 5 years or with USCRI to discover refugee families 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 unit should remain a long-lasting rental with a regular monthly rental rate at or below HUD Fair Market Rent which 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 provided the grant identifies that a household leaving homelessness is not offered to rent the system, the proprietor shall rent the system to a family with an income equivalent to or less than 80 percent of area median earnings. If such a family is not available, the residential or commercial property owner may rent the system to another household with the approval of the DHCD or HOC.

Grant to Loan Conversion: A landlord might convert a grant to a forgivable loan upon approval by DHCD and the HOC that authorized 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 proprietor 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 transforming to a forgivable 20% of the funding will be forgiven, and the forgivable loan terms would use for 8 years.

Note. This only applies to jobs that received funding through VHIP 2.0. The preliminary VHIP funding was sourced from State Fiscal Recovery Funds, which had various regulations. The requirements and choices detailed here do NOT apply to projects approved 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 decide to get a 10-year forgivable loan. This compliance period will start as soon as the VHIP 2.0 unit is placed in service. This grant requires that the unit is leased at or below HUD Fair Market Rent for the location for at least ten years. The owner must rent the system for 10 years at or listed below FMR to be forgiven in its whole. Funds will require to be paid back to the State of Vermont for every single year this requirement is not met i.e. if an owner only leases the system for 7 years at or below FMR, 3 years (30%) of financing will not be forgiven.

VHIP Documents
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General Documents

VHIP 2.0 Resource Guide for Residential Or Commercial Property Owners - This extensive guide walks residential or commercial property owners through every step of the VHIP 2.0 procedure, from identifying if the program is a good fit for your job, how to apply, payment disbursement, maintaining program requirements, to offering 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 site.

Since there are numerous job types VHIP 2.0 assistances, the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are particular to the type of project getting financing. To ask questions about your project, link with your local 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 getting involved in VHIP 2.0 are needed to charge rents at or listed below HUD Fair Market Rent (FMR) for the length of the arrangement, depending upon whether the residential or commercial property owner picks the 5-year grant or 10-year forgivable loan choice. FMRs regularly released by HUD represent the cost of renting a reasonably priced home unit in the local housing market.

Fair Market Rent Calculator - To use the calculator, you must finish the energy worksheet, which shows which utilities the occupant is accountable for payment. Once the utility worksheet is total, the calculator will show the maximum allowable lease based on the county the system lies in and the number of bed rooms.

Fair Market Rent Recertification Form - Residential or commercial property owners participating in VHIP 2.0 needs to submit a yearly recertification kind to ensure they comply with the program requirements, consisting of FMR. While the program requirements are in impact, residential or commercial property owners will receive an annual demand to finish the recertification type. Residential or commercial property owners are encouraged to proactively complete this type upon turnover or lease renewal.

If you require help finishing the recertification kind or figuring out FMR for your location, please contact your regional 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 concerns. Additional details and responses to regularly asked questions will continue to be posted to this website as 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.