A state program charged with doling out roughly $110 million in federally funded rental assistance is plagued with problems, according to advocates, and taking far too long to process desperately needed payments.
Per federal guidance, the Vermont Emergency Rental Assistance Program will pay for up to 15 months in rent for tenants with household incomes no greater than 80% of area median income. But Vermont Legal Aid says it’s been a nightmare for marginalized Vermonters to navigate. Many participants are unbanked and don’t have internet access, but the program favors direct deposits as a mode of payment and makes it difficult to access a paper application.
The “extremely lengthy application,” meanwhile, is itself confusing and complicated, Grace Pazdan, a staff attorney with Vermont Legal Aid, told lawmakers Monday.
“It often takes an hour or more for a trained advocate to complete, and frankly, it’s nearly impossible for vulnerable tenants — or somebody with a disability, someone who lacks technology — to be able to make it through,” Pazdan testified during a joint hearing of the House committees on Human Services and General, Housing and Military Affairs.
The online portal has been beset by glitches, she said, and will not even allow tenants to save their application midway and resume the process later. Call center staff frequently fail to return phone calls, give applicants the wrong information and conduct appeal hearings instead of trained, independent hearing officers. And tenants are routinely denied their applications not because they do not qualify but because their application is missing information, Pazdan said.
Court evictions have returned to pre-pandemic levels, Legal Aid also reported to lawmakers, and no-cause evictions are rising fast and now represent about half of all evictions. Landlords are cashing out as the pandemic-fueled market inflates prices across the state, and many are converting their properties into short-term rentals. The troubled rental assistance program is not helping matters, the nonprofit law firm said.
“The delays in VERAP have persuaded many landlords to not cooperate with the program. We hear daily: ‘I just want them out!’” Jean Murray, another staff attorney with the organization, wrote to lawmakers.
The Vermont State Housing Authority has subcontracted out much of the program’s administration to private vendors. WSD Digital provided the online portal, and BPO American, another firm, provided call center and case management support.
BPO American referred an interview request to the Vermont State Housing Authority, saying the state agency requested that all media inquiries be routed to them. WSD did not respond to a request for comment.
The Vermont Emergency Rental Assistance Program’s own website appears to acknowledge the program’s rollout has been bumpy. “Having Trouble Applying? Please don’t get discouraged!” it stated, before suggesting community agencies that can help applicants navigate the process. “Thank you for your patience as we continue to make improvements to this program and user experience,” it said.
Kathleen Berk, the housing authority’s executive director, declined an interview, saying she had too many meetings. But she wrote in an emailed statement that she was surprised by Vermont Legal Aid’s testimony.
The nonprofit’s feedback was already being used to continually improve the program, she wrote. Berk shared a letter sent by the state agency to the law firm last week in response to its concerns. It stated that the portal will include a save-as-you-go option as of Nov. 1, for example, and that it soon will allow applicants to register with a phone number instead of an email.
But she defended key parts of the program’s design. Legal Aid, for example, has called on the housing authority to make paper applications much more readily available for those without regular access to the internet.
“For the integrity of the program and the accuracy of data, applications should be completed online,” she wrote, adding that paper applications could nevertheless be requested through the call center.
Since coming online in April, the program has already paid out about $31 million in benefits, Berk said. Another $32 million has already been approved and earmarked for future payments to tenants. That’s 57% of the program’s budget already paid out or obligated.
“This level of success has been achieved through the hard work and dedication of our program staff, our community partners, and our vendor, who currently supplies 120 active staff to support the program,” Berk wrote.
Rep. Tom Stevens, D-Waterbury, who chairs the House Committee on General, Housing and Military Affairs, said it’s possible lawmakers will hold another hearing to dive deeper into the subject before the Legislature reconvenes in January.
“I hope that folks who are doing this work understand that there is a spotlight on them,” he said. “Because it’s really important to get all the pieces of this working.”
Meanwhile, in St. Albans, 62-year-old Kendrick Brown said he first began the process of applying for help from the program in June. He still hasn’t seen a dime.
“They put all these ads on TV and everything. You know: Call this number, and do this, and do that, everything else. And then you end up calling these numbers and nobody answers,” said Brown, who has PTSD and anxiety. “And if they do answer, they say they’re gonna call back and then they don’t call back.”
Brown said he has a good relationship with his landlord, who is being patient despite being owed several months in rent. But he just received a shut-off notice from Green Mountain Power, which is threatening to cut off electricity starting Monday.
He’s been repeatedly approved for funds and then inexplicably denied because of “missing information,” although Brown maintains he’s attempted to submit what’s required.
“We’ve given them all the information you could possibly give somebody without giving them, you know, my mother and father’s maiden names,” he said. “What more do they need? I need help.”
Just this Friday, he was set to have an appeal hearing via phone call. When a call did come at the appointed time, it was from a blocked number, and he could not pick up. He later received a voicemail, notifying him that he missed his hearing. Berk acknowledged in her letter to Legal Aid that this is a common problem.
With help from the nonprofit group, Brown has once again been notified his application has been approved. A check is supposed to arrive, he has been told, on Thursday.
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