Housing affordability is based on the relationship between a resident's income and their housing costs. A traditional rule of thumb for determining if housing is affordable is to assess if the total cost of living in the home consumes no more than 30% of the residents' household income. 

For renters, housing costs consist of rent and utilities.  For owners, housing costs may consist of mortgage payments, homeowners insurance, property taxes, mortgage insurance premiums and utilities.  Some homeowner or condominium association fees are also often considered housing expenses because they cover the cost of services that are mandatory for living in the home, such as insurance. 

For many households, spending 30% of income is not affordable because their other expenses require more than 70% of their income. Each household has unique demands on income, such as child care or home health care assistance, that affect the portion of the income available for their housing expenses. Nevertheless, the 30% standard is still widely used in government programs, although many adjust the amount of income considered available to reflect individual household circumstances, such as the number of people living in the home.

Although the term "affordable housing" is used in a variety of ways,  Vermont's state land use statute provides a helpful definition of newly developed "affordable housing"  that is based on the expected tenure of the residents (renters and owners) and the median income of all households in the county.  

Every community is different so start by learning what kinds of homes local people need. A Housing Needs Assessment frames the discussion by posing questions such as:

• Who can and cannot afford to live in this community?
• In what direction is our community headed in providing quality housing to a broad spectrum of residents?
• Can our children afford to remain in, or return to, the community as they form their own households? Are populations with special housing needs given adequate housing options? 
• Does the community offer adequate options for people with special housing needs?
• Are there substandard, overcrowded, or other living conditions that are not decent that should be addressed?
• Do we provide the types of housing that promote local economic development?

Assessments can range from a quick review of existing data to an in-depth study including these options:

• Gain an overview of the housing issues facing your county and the state as a whole by reviewing Vermont’s 2025-2029 Housing Needs Assessment.
• Familiarize yourself with the Community Profile information that is readily available and updated on this Vermont Housing Data website.
• Conduct a full Housing Needs Assessment with help from municipal staff or a consultant, using the following tools:

• Vermont Housing Needs Assessment Guide
• Existing assessments for Vermont communities

Get grounded in the facts as your first step towards effective advocacy and action.

Municipal (town) plans in Vermont must include: a recommended program for addressing low- and moderate-income persons' housing needs as identified by the regional planning commission pursuant to subdivision 4348(a)(9).

Your municipal planning commission must also update the plan at least once every eight years but the commission can also amend the plan at any time to address community concerns, including any language brought forward by housing advocates.

The municipal plan provides a comprehensive policy basis for changes to municipal land use regulations including zoning, and can offer a framework for other municipal actions to help address housing needs, such as conducting studies, acquiring land, and investing in infrastructure improvements. 

For details on the planning process, see the Vermont State Planning Manual. While housing is addressed throughout, see page 59 for advice on housing goals and objectives.  Your regional planning commission is an important resource for this work.

The Vermont Land Use Implementation Manual offers an overview of the planning and permitting tools available to municipalities to further their goals and objectives.  In particular, see the topic papers on Housing Programs and Housing Regulations.

Most Vermont towns do not have municipal staff dedicated to housing. Typically, the purpose of a housing committee is to assess and recommend ways to improve the affordability of the town's housing stock for its residents and workers. Although the steps below are focused on establishing a municipally-sponsored committee, several other organizational structures have been pursued with success in Vermont, such as resident advocacy groups and faith-based committees.

1. Suggest the committee to the town's board of elected representatives.

2. Select a committee structure. Options include: 

• Subcommittee of municipal Planning Commission
• Subcommittee of town board of elected representatives 
• Modeling the structure of an existing committee

3. Identify any specific town objectives the committee should be tasked with.

• Has a Housing Needs Assessment been completed recently for the town or region? Consider tasking the committee with reviewing this assessment and making specific recommendations to address the needs identified.
• Has the town-elected board been faced with specific local issues pertaining to housing, such as the impact of a new employer in the area increasing demand for homes for its workers?  The new housing committee could be charged with making recommendations to address this new dynamic.

4. Draft a charter or resolution for the elected board and request including it on the agenda of an upcoming public meeting. (Examples: Essex, Winooski, South Burlington)

5. Recruit potential committee members and set terms. (Committee membership strategies)

6. Ask elected board to approve members.

• Some communities "interview" applicants at a meeting of the elected board. Others suggest a full initial roster of members and terms for a approval by the board.   

7. Initiate first committee meeting.

• Task one of the members to convene the first meeting or set a place and time for the first meeting and invite all members. 

8. Elect officers and clarify roles. Typical roles: 

• President
• Vice President
• Secretary - draft and post minutes, ensure meetings are warned 
• Liaison(s) to other relevant committee(s) such as planning commission 
• Spokesperson for public meetings related to housing

9. Review charter from elected board and conditions in the community to prioritize.      

Fair Housing is the right to equal opportunity in housing choice and the right to rent or buy a dwelling free from discrimination.

The Federal Fair Housing Law is contained in Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act as amended. It states that it is illegal to discriminate in the rental, sale or financing of housing for of any of the following reasons based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability and family status (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.).

Vermont has additional protections based on age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, receipt of public assistance, being a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, and denial of development permitting based on the income of prospective residents (9 V.S.A. § 4503).

Fair-housing laws also prohibit the federal, state, and local governments from undertaking actions that purposefully or inadvertently limit housing opportunities in unfair ways. A governmental action can violate fair housing even when officials do not intend to discriminate: A violation may be found when a disparate impact or burden results, even when unintended. Learn more about fair housing and municipal planning here.

Every five years the state Agency of Commerce and Community Development conducts an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing to identify barriers to fair housing choice in Vermont and recommend actions to overcome them. A comprehensive analysis was completed in 2012 and updated in 2017.

To  learn more about your rights, access resources in multiple languages, schedule trainings, and join the Thriving Communities campaign — a statewide initiative dedicated to promoting housing affordability and inclusiveness, contact the Fair Housing Project:

Fair Housing Project of CVOEO, (802) 660-3456 x 106 • [email protected], www.cvoeo.org/FHP

To file a housing discrimination complaint, contact:

• Vermont Human Rights Commission, (802) 828-1625, 1-800-416-2010, 1-877-294-9200 (TDD), Hrc.vermont.gov
• Vermont Legal Aid / Legal Services Vermont, 1-800-889-2047, vtlawhelp.org

For tenant rights and referrals:

CVOEO Vermont Tenants Hotline, (802) 864-0099, Vttenants.org, 

Download the “Fair Housing is Your Right” flier here: https://coordhousvt.egnyte.com/dl/WMhiIwAKxZ

Chapter 117 Sec 4412 Compliance Chart

Fair Housing & Municipal Planning

In addition to protecting people from discrimination, fair-housing laws also prohibit the federal, state, and local governments from undertaking actions that intentionally or inadvertently limit housing opportunities in unfair ways. Municipal practices or policies that appear reasonable on the surface may result in a deeper level of harm. The Fair Housing Act prohibits practices that result in discrimination “regardless of whether there was an intent to discriminate.” The disparate impact rule provides legal recourse if a practice or policy is used without intentional discrimination, but has a disproportionate impact on people in a protected class. (See the list of federal and state protected classes).

Four categories of municipal actions related to housing most frequently trigger a municipality’s fair housing responsibilities:

1. Regulations – When a municipality enacts and administers regulations (e.g., zoning) that affect properties that have been, will be, or could be residential. 
2. Subsidies – When a municipality offers financial incentives (e.g., grants, loans, or loan guaranties) or special services (e.g., special infrastructure projects or housing rehabilitation services) to residential property owners or to residents. 
3. Proprietary Activities – When a municipality buys, sells, or uses real property, particularly if the property has been, will be, or could be residential. 
4. Municipal Services – When a municipality provides services in residential areas or to residents (e.g., infrastructure).

Because a discriminatory intent is not required for there to be a fair housing violation, a violation may result when municipal officials merely fail to recognize that they have special fair housing responsibilities and mistakenly undertake regular activities in routine ways. For example, a municipality may routinely (and mistakenly) deny a request to reduce a setback requirement to provide for a wheelchair ramp for a home because the municipality is unaware of its special obligation to make “reasonable accommodations” in such cases. A municipality must meet its fair housing responsibilities even when doing so adds to the cost and time of undertaking an action and even when an action is not supported by federal or State funds. 

Examples of Municipal Actions Found to be Fair Housing Law Violations 

• Excluding multifamily housing in residential zoning districts with mostly white residents while permitting multifamily housing only in residential zoning districts with mostly minority residents.
• Delays in issuing building permits for residences in a housing development that was generally known to have greater minority ownership than the community-at-large.
• Requiring the approval of neighboring property owners or residents as a condition for issuing a conditional use permit for a group home. 
• Enforcement of building code regulations disproportionately in developments with predominantly minority residents. 
• Failing to make "reasonable accommodations" for residences for people with disabilities (as required by the 1988 Amendments to the Fair Housing Act), as in the following examples: A city's refusal to allow zoning rear yard setback requirements to be met in the side yard of a residence proposed for mentally ill or recovering substance abusers;  Denial of a special use permit for the conversion of an office building to a residence for persons with AIDs. The city argued that this use most closely fit the zoning ordinance’s definition of a "hospice," not permitted in commercial zoning districts. ‘ Attempting to regulate a group home for HIV positive residents as a "chronic nursing home," not permitted in the residential zoning district where the group home was proposed. Examples of Subsidy Activities Found to be Violations
• “Steering" minority applicants for Section 8 housing vouchers to buildings with predominantly minority residents. 
• Using federal Community Development Block Grant funds for water and sewer projects only in areas with predominantly white residents, where areas with predominantly minority residents had a greater need for such projects.
• Providing misinformation and selectively disposing of applications for a residential rehabilitation and energy conservation program. 

Examples of Proprietary Activities Found to be Violations 

• Acquisition and demolition of the only housing occupied predominantly by minority residents as part of a downtown revitalization project where there was no provision of replacement housing. 
• Failure to comply with fair housing regulations in advertising and selling a residence to the highest bidder. 
• Systematic disinvestment in and non-maintenance of existing public housing. 
• Prohibition of "mentally infirm" residents, unwed mothers, and residents dependent on guide dogs from public housing. Examples of Service Activities Found to be Violations 
• Termination of police protection to minority residents following acts of racial violence.
• Selection of a school site near the center of an area with predominantly minority residents, instead of at the edge of such area which would promote integrated enrollment. 

Ways that municipalities can support Fair Housing Opportunities:

• Establish a policy in support of fair housing. The municipal plan should include a policy statement that supports equal housing opportunity as a fundamental principal guiding its land-use policies, for example, “All residents, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, family status, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, receipt of public assistance, or being a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, may enjoy fair, equal and affordable access to housing opportunities.”
• Establish policies that support addressing specific local housing needs. The plan should include a policy statement that supports addressing each type of housing need defined by the community.
• Call for land-use bylaws to promote fair housing and affordable housing opportunities. Include language in the plan to institute periodic review of land-use bylaws, to consider all future proposed bylaw revisions for their impacts on housing opportunities, and to encourage that all future revisions with housing impacts should promote opportunities for more affordable housing and housing that meets the needs of diverse households.
• Consider the need to implement specific types of incentives for fair housing and affordable housing opportunities targeted to your community’s situation. The plan could identify the specific types of incentives that would be especially likely to promote the development of affordable housing units, based on the community’s own analysis of barriers (for examples, see the checklist for municipal regulations).
• Consider other municipal initiatives that will further fair housing and affordable housing opportunities. The plan can support other community initiatives, such the creation of a local housing commission, local fair housing enforcement standards, and/or the use of municipal funds and grant funds to subsidize the development of housing targeted to local needs (perhaps in partnership with public, private and nonprofit entities).

Adapted from “Fair Housing and Land Use Planning & Regulation in Chittenden County, Vermont” Developed for CVOEO Fair Housing Project with a grant from HUD Developed by: Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC) Staff (2008)

https://www.cvoeo.org/fileLibrary/file_13.pdf

The strategies that municipalities can use to improve housing affordability can be grouped by their impact on housing supply, stability and subsidy.

• Supply: Every decision that impacts the supply of housing, such as zoning and land use restrictions, affects the cost of housing. Both rents and home prices rise if the demand to live in an area grows higher than the supply of housing there.  
• Stability:  Having a stable home has become recognized more than ever before as a key to health and safety. Job stability helps residents continue to pay housing expenses.   
• Subsidy: Working with government and non-profit partners can provide access to subsidies to increase the affordability of existing or new homes for many years to come. Local subsidies, such as Housing Trust Funds and land donation, also increase affordability for low income residents. 

Just as important as considering each of these 3 impacts is striking the balance that keeps the town stable.  Since some actions might improve one leg of the stool but harm another, being as informed as possible about the extent and nature of potential consequences is central to increasing the number of residents with affordable homes.  

• Participate in regional planning via your town's regional planning commission. 
• Consider a Vermont Municipal Planning Grant or Small Grant for Smart Growth to research opportunities and plan next steps.
• Subscribe to the news feeds published by the Thriving Communities initiative and the Vermont Housing Finance Agency. 
• Seek technical assistance by contacting Jess Hyman at the Thriving Communities Initiative of CVOEO or Leslie Black-Plumeau at Vermont Housing Finance Agency.
• Help identify important land within the community and identify opportunities for housing development or redevelopment.
• Conduct a land use regulation audit to identify barriers to affordable housing  (Example: Essex) 
• Institute Housing Impact Analyses for identifying unintended housing impacts of proposed local policy changes. 
• Consider donating or selling municipal land for housing development
• Strongly support housing projects throughout the development process
• Seek funds from the VT Community Development Program or VT Community Foundation for developing additional affordable housing. 
• Promote accessory dwelling units (ADU)
• Create a Housing Trust Fund
• Promote affordable homeownership through Shared Equity Model (via Community Land Trusts) and sweat equity programs. 
• Apply for state designation (Downtown, Neighborhood, etc.) to trigger incentives for the housing development
• Set targets for the number of units or portion of housing stock affordable to low and moderate income households.