Renter Eligibility

To be eligible, a household must be obligated to pay rent on a residential dwelling in the State of Vermont and meet the criteria below:

• One or more individuals within the household has qualified for unemployment benefits or experienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced other financial hardship due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
• Be At-Risk of Homelessness or housing instability due to:
  • Past due rent or utility notice
  • Unsafe or unhealthy living conditions
  • Paying more than 30% of gross income to rent
• the household has a household income at or below 80% of Area Median Income. Vermont Income Limits 2021
• Eligible housing types include:
• People exiting homelessness, provided only that the household has a lease or can demonstrate they have a rental obligation.
• People leasing up in new location, provided only that the household has a lease or can demonstrate they have a rental obligation.
• Obligation to pay mobile home lot rent and mobile home rentals.
• People renting in recovery residence/sober homes as well as renting temporary housing if they relapse and cannot stay in residence, provided only that the household has a lease or can demonstrate an obligation to pay rent.
• Tenants residing in motels for more than 30 days.
• Long-term care facilities (rent portion only).

If you are currently participating in one or more of the following Vermont programs, you are not eligible for RENT through VERAP. However, you may be eligible for emergency assistance under these programs, please refer to The Agency of Human Services at …
https://dcf.vermont.gov/benefits/reachup/ERA.

• Reach Up,
• Reach First,
• Reach Ahead,
• Reach Post-Secondary Education Program (PSE)
• Child-Only households with at least one parent in receipt of SSI.

In addition, Utility Assistance and Other Household Expenses are available through VERAP

Participants who receive rental assistance (such as Section 8) will no longer be eligible for assistance.

Existing VERAP participants (those applying to VERAP prior to 10/1/22) will receive reduced assistance dependent on income, according to the following schedule.

• • Participants with incomes between 31-80% of Area Median Income:
    • October 1, 2022, assistance will be reduced to 70%
    • November 2, 2022, assistance will be reduced to 50%
    • Assistance will end November 30, 2022 
  • Participants with incomes at 30% of Area Median Income and below:
    • October 1, 2022, assistance will be reduced to 70%
    • Assistance will be provided until funding is gone.

Vermont Income Limits (Chart) 

Income for all adult members over the age of 18.  In addition, you will need the following:

• Current lease signed by the applicant and landlord or sublessor that identifies the unit where the applicant resides and establishes the rental payment amount
• Other documentation demonstrating obligation to pay rent include:
  • Evidence of amount of rental payment may include bank statements, check stubs, or other documentation that reasonably establishes a pattern of paying rent.
  • Attestation by the landlord who can be identified as the verified owner or management agent of the unit.
  • Other reasonable documentation as defined by the grantee in its policies and procedures.
  • If an applicant can provide satisfactory evidence of residence but is unable to present adequate documentation of amount of rent, applicant can provide written attestation to support the payment of assistance up to a monthly maximum of 100% of the county FMR.
    • Attestation will be provided in the online application attesting that the information is true and accurate with an eSignature at the end of the application process.
    • must include that household has not received and does not anticipate public or private subsidy or is a current recipient of Reach-up, Reach First, Reach Ahead, Reach Post-Secondary Education Program, and Child-Only households with at least one parent in receipt of SSI.

Rent assistance can be provided for 3 months at a time.  

An eligible household member must have a COVID-19 financial hardship as defined below, AND be at risk of homelessness or housing instability.

 Financial hardship categories.

• Qualified for Unemployment Benefits.
• One or more of the following, due directly or indirectly to the pandemic
  • reduction in income, OR
  • incurred significant costs, OR
  • other financial hardship *AND*
• Be At-Risk of Homelessness or housing instability due to:
  • Past due rent or utility notice
  • Unsafe or unhealthy living conditions
  • Paying more than 30% of income toward rent.

• Back rent accrued AFTER April 1, 2020 is eligible provided they were not paid by the Vermont State Housing Authority’s Rental Housing Stabilization Program or another rental subsidy program. (maximum of 18 months – Subject to eligibility and availability of funding) )
• For households in subsidized housing, all back rent after April 1, 2020 for tenant-owed portion of the rent may be paid even if rent has not been adjusted for changes in income if the subsidizing owner or agency cannot grant complete retroactive reduction in rent. (maximum of 18 months – Subject to eligibility and availability of funding)
• VERAP may be used for prospective rent at a new unit; there is no requirement regarding the length of tenure in the current unit.
• Applicants will be required to provide a copy of a lease, or other documentation that they have a rent obligation.
• Applicant household must be “at risk of homelessness due to unsafe or unhealthy living conditions.”

• Current lease showing rental amount (must be provided if available)

OR

• other documentation demonstrating an obligation to pay rent, such as:
  • Documents establishing a pattern of paying rent.
  • A written attestation by landlord
  • For household receiving subsidy, documentation establishing tenant arrears and tenant portion of rent must be provided.
• All back-rent (arrears) must be documented even if not paid in full.
• The program may provide assistance to households at-risk of homelessness and exiting homelessness, provided the household has a lease or can demonstrate they have a rental obligation.
• Includes people leasing up in new location, provided the household has a lease or can demonstrate they have a rental obligation.

Payments to Tenants will only be made if the landlord refuses to cooperate by submitting a required landlord application, either online or in paper format. 

• If / when a landlord refuses to cooperate
• Grantee’s vendor will make 3 attempts by phone, text or email over 5 business days OR
• Receive confirmation in writing that the landlord does not want to participate.

After an application has been approved and the landlord has been setup for direct deposit, landlords can expect to receive payment within 1-2 weeks. Payments are processed weekly with a Thursday check date. Monthly ongoing rent payments are processed for the first of the month.

The following data elements will be collected with each tenant application.

For Head of Household

• Full Name
• Date of Birth
• SSN
• Gender, Race and Ethnicity
• Email, Phone, Cell Phone if different
• Residence Address
• Amount of rent arrears for each Household
• Number of months’ rent payment and number of months utility payments
• Legal Business Name of Landlord
• Number of household members
• Lease or rental agreement or letter of attestation from landlord
• Eviction notice (If applicable)
• Documentation of At Risk of Housing Stability situation, such as past-due rent or utility notice

For Each Member 18 years or older:

• Full Name
• Date of Birth
• SSN
• Gender, Race and Ethnicity
• 2020 or 2021 W-2s or Income Tax Form (e.g. 1040) or Current pay stubs (last 2 months)
• Unemployment Compensation Benefits letter (if applicable)

The following data elements will be collected with each landlord application.

• Full Name
• Address, City, State, Zip
• Tax id number
• Completed W-9
• Email
• Phone
• Attestation (with eSignature at end of application) that:
  • The rental unit complies with Vermont’s Life Safety Code requirements
  • They will not increase the rent for the number of months receiving benefits.
  • Make reasonable effort to engage in weatherization activities and programs.
  • Owner agrees to notify VERAP and return grant funds if tenant moves from the unit before the end of the benefit period.
• Documentation of proof of ownership

Currently, VERAP requires an email or cell phone to login and save as you go. If you do not have either, you can create a free email account using Hotmail, gmail, etc. You can use any member of your household’s cell phone, as long as they can receive text messages.

VERAP requires the SSN for all members of the household. If you do not have a social security number, you may request an alternate ID that is unique to you or a member of your household by calling 833-488-3727.

Yes, please save your login information somewhere safe. To start your application, you must login and fill out the head of household screen and click ‘save’. After that has been completed, you can logout and return to your application at a later date to finish and submit it.

• You are required to enter the social security number for all members of the household. Vermont State Housing Authority has implemented requesting Social Security number as a requirement for VERAP. All pages expect the payments page and dashboard will be locked until you enter this information.
• If you or someone in your household does not have a SSN, you may request an alternate ID that is unique to you or a member of your household by calling 833-488-3727.

Call the call center at 1-833-488-3727 and they can generate one for you. This number will be unique and can only be used for one person. This number cannot be used for anyone else, only the household member it was generated for. The number will automatically be added to the household member in your application.

• Step 1: Click Need a new user action and register with an email or cell phone to create your login credentials.
• Step 2: Enter your PIN, head of household date of birth and head of household last name, exactly the same as you did when you first applied.
• Step 3: Click verify, as long as the information is exactly the same your application will be found and your login credentials will be linked to it. The application will ask you to click continue instead of apply.
• Step 4: You will be within the your previously submitted application and required to add your SSN and all members of your households SSNs before being able to make any updates.

Yes, there is a VERAP stipulation form in the help menu found here.  Please have this form filled out and uploaded to the portal for reimbursement.

In order to be eligible for all benefits ongoing, including utilities, participants are required to recertify ever 90 days by logging into the Applicant Portal and answering the questions on the Recertification screen. If changes have occurred to the family’s composition or income, additional documents may need to be provided. Applicants can also self-test that no changes have occurred and that they continue to be at risk of housing instability.  Failure to recertify will result in program participation suspension

Once the participant has exhausted 15 months of benefit, they can be eligible for an additional 3 months under ERA2 funding (Subject to eligibility and availability of funding). They simply have to have recertified. Failure to recertify will result in program participation suspension.