Homesharing was included in the City of Burlington’s Housing Action Plan as one of 22 strategies for building a more affordable, inclusive and sustainable community. The Plan called for the city to re-dedicate itself to addressing its housing affordability challenges. A recently released 20-page Whitepaper, written by staff from the CEDO office, evaluated the HomeShare Vermont program and focused on strategies to expand homesharing in Burlington. The report noted that, “The numbers of people age 55+ living alone coupled with an increasing financial need and a desire to remain in Burlington makes home sharing an important tool to provide services to a rapidly growing senior population in the city.” It also suggested that using financial incentives to encourage Burlington homeowners to share their homes, along with targeted marketing, would provide more homesharing opportunities for those needing affordable housing. We look forward to working with the City to expand homesharing opportunities.
Read the CEDO Whitepaper here.