2007 Action Plan for Housing & Community Development
Housing Goals, Strategies and Funded Activities

Priority 4: Protect the Vulnerable

Goal: The City's neediest residents can successfully confront the various obstacles and problems they face in the housing market.

Five-Year Focus:

• Enact a No Cause Eviction Control Measure to lengthen the notice period required for no-cause evictions for tenants in good standing, with graduated notice periods based on length of tenure. 
• Change Burlington's Security Deposit ordinance to allow the charging of a pet deposit. 
• Require all landlords to distribute a "housing disclosure form" that outlines the rights and responsibilities of both landlords and tenants. 
• Have the City Code Enforcement Office utilize rental registration fees solely for the purposes stated in the Minimum Housing Ordinance, target its inspection program to units not inspected by housing authorities and other public third parties, and issue Interim Certificates/Certificates of Compliance for posting in apartment buildings. 
• Have the Code Enforcement Office conduct periodic inspections at the frequency required in the minimum housing ordinance. 
• Cease enforcing the Life Safety Code as part of minimum housing inspections on existing apartments unless and until the City Council conducts an analysis on the impact of such enforcement on housing affordability and approves such a policy change. 
• Have the Code Enforcement Office routinely send tenants notices of violations found during either periodic or complaint-based inspections. 
• Improve public access to inspection records by providing certification of such records to citizens to facilitate the use of the records as evidence in court and making all minimum housing inspection compliance orders and Interim Certificates/Certificates of Compliance available online. 
• Encourage the State to at a minimum maintain – and where possible, increase ﷓ current funding levels for Homeless Shelters and Services funded through the State Office of Economic Opportunity, as well as the "Back Rent" Program, Temporary Housing Assistance and Assistive Community Care Services funded through PATH.
• Urge the legislature to clarify that landlords can only recoup third party charges commensurate with the cost of obtaining credit reports, and other charges incurred with third parties that are reasonably related to qualifying the applicant for the rental of a unit. 
• Encourage the State to explore using untapped TANF reserve funds, without reducing benefit levels, to provide housing subsidies to families that are (or recently were) on welfare. 
• Encourage the State to create a demonstration project to encourage the development of more transitional housing for formerly homeless families and affordable assisted living for low-income seniors. 
• Encourage the Vermont Agency of Human Services to redirect resources to support housing retention/eviction prevention programs that are more cost-effective than emergency housing. 
• Urge the Vermont Congressional Delegation to seek reforms to the Section 8 Program, including creation of a "Voucher Success Program," designed to enhance the usefulness of vouchers in tight rental markets like Burlington's. 
• Urge the federal government to dramatically increase funding levels for the McKinney Homeless Assistance Program and Section 8 Vouchers. 
• Encourage that Federal funds be made available to assist public and nonprofit organizations and private sector housing providers to provide supportive services that help tenants retain their housing. 
• Provide grants and loans to homeowners and tenants for accessibility modification projects. 
• Develop new housing for the frail elderly. 
• Support the facilities and services which make up the Continuum of Care for homeless and precariously housed residents of Burlington. 
• Expand supportive services for SRO housing. 
• Support vocational services, training, and jobs for homeless men and women. 
• Explore other ways to address the homeless population with substance abuse issues, who currently sleep outside year round.
• Encourage statewide funding for eviction prevention and tenant success counseling, as well as additional funding for fair housing outreach and education. 
• Support current Shelter Plus Housing projects. 
• Expand supportive services for elderly homeowners and renters to encourage "aging in place." 
• Ensure that there is no net loss of assisted housing in the City.
  • Preserve the following BHA properties as public housing: 10 N. Champlain, 230 St. Paul, Franklin Square, Riverside Apartments and Hillside Terrace. 
  • Preserve existing Single Room Occupancy (SRO) buildings, nonprofit shared elder housing and residential care homes. 
• Encourage and support the development of innovations and collaborations between programs and agencies to better serve homeless and low-income populations.
  • Support the Burlington Housing Authority's partnership with the Committee on Temporary Shelter and other affordable housing providers to provide a diversity of affordable housing options for lower-income tenants. 
  • Support the ongoing efforts of the Rental Opportunity Center to provide housing search assistance to Section 8 voucher holders. 
• Encourage the Burlington Housing Authority to fully utilize its ability to "project base" Section 8 vouchers in support of new perpetually affordable housing. 

Annual Action Plan – Program Year 2007

The City will fund the following projects and programs with CDBG and HOME funds in program year 2007 to further the goal of protecting the vulnerable:

Page last updated May 21, 2007