In support of landlords

If the state of Vermont is fully committed to confronting the current housing crisis head-on, its most powerful move would be to partner with landlords and look for ways to support them.

One-third of all Vermont households rent their homes. Of those homes, the vast majority are owned by mom-and-pop landlords, who, on average, own less than two housing units.

Then why does the state direct 80% of its housing funding and resources to those public agencies that create and manage 20% of its rental housing stock? This is the equivalent of turning gold into straw.

It is also an example of the Pareto Principle, which states that 80% of the desired outcome typically comes from 20% of the effort.

Last year, I housed 15 adults and 19 children out of the local motels. As a low-barrier landlord, I housed tenants with no rental history, current employment, credit score, or references. The one common denominator was that they all had a social service organization supporting them. 

At least they did until the rental agreement was signed.

The rude awakening for me was that of the 22 housing agencies and authorities I work with, their commitment to the landlord-tenant-agency relationship was limited to supporting the tenant, not in a sustainable win-win-win strategy.

Theoretically, strategies exist to support tenants and work with landlords to ensure a successful relationship between them.

For example, the state has seven landlord liaisons, who are funded by the Office of Economic Opportunity, but without oversight, the results are uneven or non-existent.

In addition, programs like the Landlord Relief Program are designed to soften the financial blow when a tenant vacates an apartment, leaving unpaid rent and damages. However, when the process is more cumbersome than the potential reward of $5,000, one has to ask: Is the program committed to the process or the outcome?

Another program is the Eviction Prevention Program, which will intervene in an eviction once there is a court docket number, paying the back rent for the tenant on the condition that the landlord agrees not to evict the tenant in the future for several months equal to the back rent.

The bulk of the state’s efforts to get and keep tenants housed is on the back end, not on preparing tenants for successful tenancies.

The City of Tacoma, Washington (population 222K), has a landlord liaison program that begins with training and education for potential tenants and continues with support and resources for landlords, including a 24-hour hotline.

Yet, here in Vermont, it is my experience that the state’s agencies’, and organizations’ efforts are focused on reacting to issues rather than preventing them. An exception is the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity’s Tenant Skills workshop, which I now ask all rental applicants to complete. However, if the agency supporting the tenant doesn’t stay with the tenant, it’s of little value.

There seems to be a great push to get the tenants housed, and then the housing agency, authority, or service provider disappears, leaving a landlord with few tools in the toolbox when things go bad.

That’s when Vermont Legal Aid jumps in, kicking the can down the road in an unbridled effort to delay the inevitable.

State-administered programs aren’t designed to ensure that tenancies go well; they are designed to soften the blow when they go bad. This situation is untenable, and anyone with an interest in the current housing crisis must confront the fact that the most valuable partner in providing housing in Vermont is being ignored. The result is reduced housing availability for those who need it the most.

If the State of Vermont expects landlords to provide low-barrier housing to Vermonters in need, the state will get busy supporting landlords upfront and throughout the relationship, not just at the end with a parting gift to make amends for a damaged apartment.

To be clear, the most valuable partner in Vermont’s rental housing arena is the mom-and-pop landlord, who owns an average of 1.7 housing units.

Mom-and-pop landlords provide 80% of the rental housing in Vermont. Mom-and-pop landlords receive 20% of the funds that the State of Vermont invests in housing. Mom-and-pop landlords face rising costs, including property taxes, insurance, utilities, and maintenance. As a result, half of the landlords report losses on their investments.

Again, one of the strongest strategies for housing Vermonters would be to support the landlords providing the housing throughout the relationship, not when the rental relationship is in court.

Stephen Box is a “Houser” in Rutland County: VermontHouser@gmail.com.