House rent too high? Do you need to find a new place to live?

Immigrants helping Immigrants . . .

Do you want to find a new place to rent? Is your landlord planning to increase your monthly rent payments when your current 6-month lease expires? Are you unhappy with your current housing?

Housing and rental costs in the Burlington area are very expensive. Lower-cost subsidized housing is available, however the application process is complicated and time-consuming! There are long waiting lists for all of the low-cost places. You must apply early and you must update your applications regularly.

The two most important places to apply for lower-cost housing are the:

Burlington Housing Authority, 65 Main Street, Burlington, Vermont 05401 at 802-864-0538 during the hours of Monday- Friday 8:30 - 4:00.

and the

Winooski Housing Authority - their office hours are 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday and their office number is (802) 655-2360 . The office is located at 83 Barlow St, Winooski, VT 05404

The Vermont State Housing Authority(VSHA) is located at One Prospect Street • Montpelier, Vermont 05602. Their phone number is: 802-828-3295 (ask to speak with Lluisa). The VSHA is another agency with lower-cost housing located in the Burlington area (Burlington, Colchester, Essex Junction, Milton). They will arrange for a Bhutanese translator to help you with preparing your application, when you visit their office in Montpelier....

There are many forms to fill out if you are interested! Please visit these offices and ask for all necessary forms.

If you need help filling out the applications ask a friend or go to the office of the Association of Africans Living in Vermont, their phone number is: 802 985 3106 and the office is located at 139 Elmwood Avenue, Burlington, VT 05401 (just around the corner from the Community Action Office on North Street). The people working at this office receive funding to help with these types of questions.

To get an idea of market rate rental prices, check the currently advertised places in the Burlington /Winooski /South Burlington area. The best source for available places is on the website CRAIGSLIST.

When the local colleges and universities finish their spring school semesters, the market will be "flooded" for a short while with newly available rentals. This is a good time to look for another apartment. Those places will begin to be advertised in mid-April through mid-June. Don't consider a summer sublet, as they are only available for the 3 summer months!

Other good places to look for apartment rentals are in the Burlington Free Press classified ads and in the Seven Days classified ads.