Becca’s Plan for Housing for All:

NEW HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES:

 We must focus on building housing for low  and middle income families if we are going to make up the current national housing shortage. Closing the housing gap can’t be accomplished simply through rental construction alone. 

• Homeownership remains a dream for many and a reality for too few. We need to invest in programs that help families and individuals rent-to-own and build wealth through homeownership if they so choose. 

• Affordable housing construction must not be code for only “corporate development opportunity.” Using tax breaks to incentivize affordable housing construction has been a dominant strategy in our country for 30 years. This strategy is only effective when balanced with other mechanisms that create long-lasting affordability in housing. It’s a problem when developers take advantage of these tax breaks and only have to keep properties affordable for a few years. When residents suddenly find themselves unable to afford their affordable housing it isn’t sustainable and it isn’t fair. Just like she did in the state Senate, Becca will work with these programs to ensure local developers can use tax credits to revitalize our downtowns, while also fighting to increase our state's – and our nation’s – affordable housing supply. 

• New housing must prioritize environmental sustainability from the groundbreaking to the front door opening, and financial sustainability for the individuals and families who will finally be able to come home.

REHABILITATING OLD HOUSING STOCK:

Decades of neglect have left the majority of our nation’s affordable housing supply in bad repair.

Substandard housing is unacceptable and leads to poor health, financial uncertainty, and poor quality neighborhoods. Investing in weatherization, for example, not only improves the comfort and safety of residents, but it lowers greenhouse gas emissions while lowering the cost of housing. 

RENTAL SUPPORT:

Over a third of Americans rent. Becca will fight to expand rental support programs and will go a step further – she will work to make rent tax deductible. This simple change would benefit groups most likely to rent – low-income folks, minorities, and young people – and create opportunity for renters to build wealth. 

• Becca will fight to expand programs that help renters become homeowners – if that is what they want. Rent-to-own programs, first-time homebuyer programs, and programs that help make housing affordable for middle-income families and individuals are key to building healthy communities. Vermont was a leader when the Section 8 program expanded to allow voucher-holders to use their rental assistance to help pay for their mortgage when they became homebuyers. Becca will fight to make sure the country follows Vermont’s lead on innovative solutions like this. 

• Rent stabilization and lot stabilization are underutilized tools to ensure that renters can stay in their homes.  There are ways to balance the increasing costs of owning property with modest and affordable increases in rent. It is important that we acknowledge the challenges of owning and maintaining property, and incentivize good stewardship, while also working to keep families in their homes.

RURAL HOUSING:

• Disaster resiliency must be a priority for rural housing construction and rehabilitation. We are all vulnerable to climate disasters and ensuring that our housing stock can withstand climate catastrophes when they strike is critical to the sense of safety that a home should provide. 

• Rural homebuyers can be vulnerable to subprime mortgage loans and rental housing in rural areas can go vacant, which hurts a whole community. Expanding incentives in the Community Reinvestment Act  for low-density and rural areas will protect rural residents and make rural living more attractive by driving lenders to invest more in these important areas.

• To keep housing affordable for residents, Vermont recently considered a measure to tax second (and third… and fourth) homes at a higher rate. Becca will bring this same energy to DC to ensure that houses that are purchased as part of an investment portfolio are taxed as such.  

WORKFORCE HOUSING:

Today, there are just over 28,000 open job positions in Vermont, and we do not have the workers to fill them. Solving our workforce crisis means solving the housing crisis. Our communities cannot thrive if teachers, public safety professionals, nurses, students, retail workers, farmers and others are priced out. 

• Due to skyrocketing housing prices, urban and rural areas alike struggle to keep middle class families and cornerstone community members in the community. Expanding federal programs like Good Neighbor Next Door and incentivizing first-time home buyer programs are smart ways to support middle class families and middle-income earners.  Reducing commutes is also environmentally responsible. 

• Protecting Mobile Homeowners: We must rise to the challenges in affordable housing, including keeping predatory landlords in check. Almost 8% of Vermont homeowners live in mobile homes. In addition to expanding our housing stock, Becca will work to protect mobile home park residents through lot rent stabilization, as more and more investors seek to acquire these properties and increase rents as an easy way to turn a profit on the backs of low-income renters. 

FAIR HOUSING FOR ALL:

We must strengthen and enforce the nation’s fair housing laws and aggressively pursue the goal of equal access to housing for all.  The federal government discriminated against Black families for decades by denying them access to the same lending and mortgage rates available to white families. Today, Black Vermonters are three times less likely to be homeowners than white Vermonters. The Fair Housing Act passed 50 years ago, but access to homeownership and the wealth it creates has been vastly unequal. Becca has proudly worked to remove barriers to homeownership in Vermont, and will expand on this work in Congress. Organizations like Champlain Housing Trust right here in Vermont are leading the way on fair housing for all with  0% interest loans that are forgivable within three years,  which is likely one of the first programs of its kind in the nation. We need to bring that innovation to Washington.

• DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

  Homeownership is one of the primary ways BIPOC Vermonters build wealth but has become unattainable for so many BIPOC Vermonters. By providing support on one of the biggest barriers to homeownership- the down payment- we can help close the wealth gap. Becca will work to establish a sustained down payment assistance program for BIPOC folks.

• CANCEL STUDENT DEBT

  One of the most impactful ways to close the racial wealth gap and increase opportunity for homeownership for BIPOC Americans is to cancel student debt. 97% of student debt is held by folks making less than $150,000 a year, and the vast majority of that debt is held by BIPOC students and graduates. Becca is ready to support the Biden administration in following through on their promise to cancel $10,000 of student debt, and ready to push the administration to do more. 

• INCREASE ACCESS TO LENDING

  One of the biggest barriers to homeownership is lack of credit or access to mortgage funding, particularly for Black Vermonters. Becca will push for innovation in mortgage credit scoring and mortgage products. Becca will also provide fair lending information and education through her constituent services program. 

• STRENGTHEN AND ENFORCE FAIR HOUSING LAWS

  We must ensure that the Fair Housing Act is strongly enforced and not weakened by Congress. We know that discriminatory lending and leasing is real and still happens every day. 

  Becca will support legislation to bar housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, veteran status, and the source of one’s income, like a housing voucher. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in loans that are secured by residential real estate or that are for the purchasing, constructing, improving, repairing or maintaining a dwelling. This includes mortgages, refinancing, home equity loans and home improvement loans.