[V]ermont Legal Aid is pushing for state funding to help people pay overdue rent and avoid eviction, after releasing the first comprehensive report on evicted tenants in the state on Wednesday at the Statehouse.
The report, announced to the public on Homelessness Awareness Day, says that with $800,000 a year in state funding, Vermont could cut its roughly 1,700 evictions a year in half — leading to less homelessness throughout the state.
Supporters of the recommendation said many people who are evicted are unable to find new housing and end up homeless, but additional state funding to help pay rent would cut the homeless population while also keeping landlords from paying court fees in eviction cases.
“There are cost effective solutions to save people from homelessness but also save the state costs associated with eviction,” Jessica Radbord, a Vermont Legal Aid lawyer and co-author of the report said. “It makes more sense to keep people housed, pay off landlords, and let people stay in their homes.”
This is the first in-depth analysis to look at the rate of evictions in Vermont, and Radbord said that of the 1,700 eviction cases each year, 75 percent result in tenants losing their housing and becoming homeless — adding significantly to the populations in emergency shelters and other state-funded programs.
According to the report, if Vermont allocated $246,000 to programs that help people pay back rent, it would cut the number of evictions by 21 percent.
If the state allocated $800,000, it would cut the number by 50 percent, and $2 million would bring it down to about 70 percent, according to the report.
Angela Zaikowski, a lawyer who represents landlords throughout the state and is the director of the Vermont Apartment Owners’ Association, said she fully supports the recommendations and that landlords would welcome them.
“Landlords want to have the rent paid, and there is a vehicle here to make that happen,” Zaikowski said. “The current system isn’t working. It’s not working for tenants, it’s not working for landlords and if we can create a situation that is better financially for everybody, Vermonters win.”
Most funding for eviction prevention comes from the Vermont Housing Opportunity Grant Program (HOP) and a combination of federal and other state funding. In fiscal year 2018, of the more than $6.9 million in HOP funding, $367,933 went toward back rental assistance.
One recommendation in the report is to simply increase the funding for back rental programs, but Radbord said those funds would have to be strictly allocated for that rent assistance program and not for other projects.
The report has not been dissected by lawmakers, but Rep. Tom Stevens, D-Waterbury, who chairs the House Committee on General, Housing, and Military Affairs, said he plans to have Vermont Legal Aid report on the analysis in his committee next week, and that he supports a system that will save money long term and ensure people can keep their homes.
“It just makes more sense. If we can pay the landlords, then they don’t have to go to court and if we pay the landlords and people aren’t kicked onto the street, it’s a domino effect of positivity,” Stevens said.
Stevens said that it is clearly a question of appropriations and that it will go through those committees, but he will likely support the measure.
“If their numbers are correct and their estimates are correct, this program of paying rent rather than the aftermath of being evicted is so much more affordable,” Stevens said.
Homelessness continues to be an issue Vermont lawmakers and others struggle to find a remedy for.
In June, the Vermont Coalition to End Homelessness and the Chittenden County Homeless Alliance reported that there was an overall increase in homelessness in 2018 compared to 2017, and on one night alone 1,291 Vermonters were found to be homeless, an increase of 5 percent compared to the 2017 one-night count.
In a vigil on the Statehouse steps, House Speaker Mitzi Johnson, D-South Hero, Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe, D/P-Chittenden, Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman and others voiced their concerns on the problem of homelessness and the need to do more to address it in the new legislative session.
“You can’t ask somebody to successfully deal with an addiction issue if they don’t know where they will be putting their head at night,” Johnson said. “You can’t ask somebody to stabilize mental health issues if they don’t have stable housing, and you can’t ask kids to come to school prepared and ready to learn if their home life is constantly in chaos. We still have the same problem.”
