Statewide Candidate Housing Forum

Let's Build Homes recently commissioned a statewide poll of Vermont voters, and the results are unambiguous: housing is the number one issue in Vermont. 49% of voters named housing as Vermont's most important issue, ahead of taxes, healthcare costs, and jobs. 75% say legislative action is important and that urgency cuts across party lines, age groups, and every region of the state.

So, we're bringing the candidates to the table!

Please join us on July 15 for a Housing Forum with the 2026 candidates for Vermont Governor and Lieutenant Governor. This is voters' chance to hear directly from candidates on how they'd tackle the state's housing shortage. We'll do a deep dive with each candidate on their housing policy proposals and ask how they envision fixing Vermont’s housing shortage.

The forum is co-hosted by Let's Build Homes, Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, the Housing and Homelessness Alliance of Vermont, and the Vermont REALTORS Association.

Our goal is to give Vermont voters a clear look at where each candidate stands on the issue Vermonters care most about.

Two ways to tune in:

• In person at the South Burlington Public Library. Tickets are free, but seating is limited to 75 so if you want to be in the room, register soon.

• Online, streamed live thanks to our partner WCAX. Register at the same link to watch from anywhere. Registration is recommended but not required!

This is a nonpartisan forum and all candidates running in the Vermont State Primary Election were invited to participate.

What you should know about the ROAD to Housing Act

Last week, Congress passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, the most significant federal housing legislation in over 30 years. The bill has passed through both chambers with large majorities. Vermont's full delegation — Senators Sanders and Welch and Representative Balint — voted yes. President Trump unexpectedly canceled a signing ceremony for the bill last week and seemed to condition his support on other unrelated issues – but hopes remain high that the bill will soon become law one way or another.

The bill’s nearly 50 housing measures share the premise that the country is facing an acute housing shortage and the way out is to build more homes. We’re encouraged to see this alignment in congress on both the problem we face and the strategy to address it.

You can read a full summary of the bill from the Bipartisan Policy Center here.

Here are some highlights that overlap with our work and put wind in our sails:

• It backs our zoning reform strategy. The bill directs HUD to publish best-practice frameworks for local zoning and land use and funds planning grants for governments updating their regulations. That tracks the theory behind our ROOT Zone model code: rather than asking every small town to write its own pro-homes code from scratch, they are crafting a ready-to-adopt, by-right code that legalizes missing-middle housing in the areas they choose. Federal best-practice frameworks lend national weight to that approach, and the planning grants could help Vermont towns cover the cost of adopting a ROOT Zone.

• It rewards towns that say yes to housing. The Build Now Act and a new $200M-a-year Innovation Fund steer federal dollars to communities that grow their housing supply through streamlined permitting, density bonuses, and zoning changes, consistent with adopting a ROOT Zone. For a Vermont town that adopts one, that's a potential new stream of federal revenue to help cover the service costs that come with new development, easing one of the most common local objections to growth.
  

• It makes the missing middle easier to build, with rural set-asides. A new program funds pre-approved designs for ADUs, duplexes, and townhouses to speed permitting, with 10% reserved for rural areas. This mirrors Vermont's own 802 Homes program, the state's catalog of pre-approved designs that cut design costs and streamline permitting, and lines up directly with our rural model code work that makes building these homes legal under local code.
  

• It invests in affordable and existing homes. In addition to the supply measures, the bill reauthorizes the HOME program, strengthens rural housing preservation, and funds repairs for low-income homeowners and small landlords so livable homes aren't lost to neglect. Layered with the State’s Home Improvement Program, this measure could deepen a tool we already know works and bring more long-empty units back online.
  

• It's a win for manufactured and modular housing. The bill removes the outdated permanent-chassis requirement for manufactured homes and cuts financing barriers for modular construction, two of the most direct levers for adding affordable homes.
  

• It cuts red tape on infill and streamlines environmental review. Infill housing is exempted from duplicative federal environmental review, and reviews are simplified for a range of small and infill projects. Protecting Vermont's environment matters deeply, but duplicative review adds time and cost without adding protection. It's encouraging to see the federal government move here, and it's the same balance we're advocating for at the state level.

This work doesn't replace our advocacy in Montpelier — these federal "carrots" only matter if our towns are organized and motivated to grab them — but it's a strong signal, and a foundation we intend to build on.