VT H0479

Amends the Vermont Rental Housing Improvement Program to increase grant limits to $50,000 per unit (plus $20,000 for accessibility features), establishes a minimum 30% funding set-aside for five-year grants/forgivable loans serving households exiting homelessness or with disabilities, and creates a revolving fund for repaid loans

Creates the Manufactured Home Improvement and Repair Program with grants up to $20,000 for park owners to prepare vacant lots and up to $15,000 for homeowners for foundations, site preparation, and utility connections

Establishes the Vermont Infrastructure Sustainability Fund within the Vermont Bond Bank to provide low-interest loans to municipalities for expanding water, sewer, and transportation infrastructure that enables housing development

Modifies municipal zoning appeals by expanding who qualifies as a "person aggrieved," requiring the Environmental Division to prioritize housing development appeals with a 90-day decision goal, and eliminating the 20-person petition provision for appeals involving affordable housing

Appropriates $70.3 million total in fiscal year 2026, including $25 million to VHCB for affordable housing production, $20 million to VHFA for middle-income homeownership and rental housing programs, $15 million for the Infrastructure Sustainability Fund, and funds for workforce development and recovery residences