See the Q&A session about this pitch at the EAN Summit on Youtube here: https://youtu.be/PzaZS7va9-M
Summary
According to 2020 data, there were 76,411 renter households in Vermont, projected to rise to 77,021 by 2025 in a state with 262,767, 29.1% of households. 74% of households who rent have incomes under Vermont’s median household income. 65% (49,829) of households who rent make under 80% of this threshold. Tenants cannot choose to weatherize their homes, as major structural changes are a decision only a landlord can make. Therefore we propose to start an initiative to investigate and implement policies that will both:
- give tenants more power to ensure they have more comfortable, more affordable, and more efficient rental housing, and
- incentivize landlords to utilize weatherization programs available including investigating capping tenant heating bills for un-weatherized properties.
Presented by
- Tom Proctor, Rights & Democracy
- Middlebury College
- Conservation Law Foundation
- Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission
- Tenant representatives: James Strain, Bridget Mientka, Zoe Silverman, Sarah Sciotino, and Zoe Potter
