Burlington City Council Approves Rental Assistance Expansion Funded by Property Tax Adjustment

The Burlington City Council voted 8-3 on July 7 to allocate $2.1 million from the general fund for an expansion of the city's Housing Stability Program, with the revenue to come from a 1.4 mill increase in the municipal property tax rate.

The vote occurred during the council's review of the fiscal year 2027 budget, at a time when Chittenden County continues to report vacancy rates below 3 percent in multifamily rentals according to the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development's most recent quarterly update.

Who receives support and who pays

Under the approved measure, the additional funds will cover security deposits and up to six months of rent for households earning at or below 50 percent of area median income, with priority given to those facing eviction notices filed in Chittenden Superior Court. Local advocates note that current program data shows 1,240 households already receive assistance, leaving a waiting list of 670 families as of June 2026.

Property owners will absorb the cost through the tax adjustment, which city finance staff calculate will add roughly $185 to the annual bill on a home assessed at $320,000, the median value listed in the 2025 city assessment roll. Renters who do not qualify for the program will see no direct change in their monthly housing costs from this decision.

The legislation states that the expansion will be administered through the existing partnership with the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, which processes applications and conducts income verification using federal Department of Housing and Urban Development guidelines.

City staff are scheduled to finalize program guidelines by August 15, with the first new awards expected to be issued in October once the tax rate takes effect on July 1, 2027.