Vermont Cannot Evict Its Way Out of Its Housing and Homelessness Crisis

A broad coalition of Vermont organizations sent a letter today to Speaker Krowinski. GMJ was proud to add our name.

A few weeks ago, we published a blog post opposing H. 772. We shared our testimony. We named the neighbors this bill would harm. We named the structural inequity that kept our voices out of the hearing room while landlord lobbyists had no trouble getting a seat.

Today, we took the next step.

Green Mountain Justice joined Vermont Legal Aid, the ACLU of Vermont, Vermont Interfaith Action, Disability Rights Vermont, CVOEO, Vermont CARES, Rights & Democracy, Businesses for Social Responsibility, and the National Harm Reduction Coalition in signing a letter to Speaker Jill Krowinski.

The ask is straightforward: if H. 772 advances at all, it must go through House Judiciary first.

Why That Matters

This bill is not just a housing bill. It rewrites how Vermont’s courts operate. It shortens tenant answer deadlines from 21 to 14 days. It shifts evidentiary burdens onto tenants. It requires courts to award possession to landlords if a tenant misses a single hearing — without the usual civil rule safeguards.

Eviction cases make up 26% of Vermont’s civil docket. Changes this sweeping require full judicial review. That is House Judiciary’s job. Bypassing that committee is not just procedurally wrong. It is a signal about whose interests this process is designed to serve.

The Theory Doesn’t Hold

The letter makes something clear that we have been saying for months: there is no evidence behind this bill.

No evidence that evictions take too long. No evidence that landlords are withholding units because eviction is too hard. No evidence that making evictions faster will increase housing supply. Rents have increased 40% in recent years. With a statewide vacancy rate around 2%, landlords will always have takers. There is no mechanism in this bill that would lower rents or choose housing-vulnerable Vermonters over higher-paying tenants.

What the data does show: homelessness in Vermont has grown over 320% in six years. BIPOC neighbors are five times more likely to experience it. With a 2.1% vacancy rate statewide, where do we think newly evicted Vermonters are supposed to go? Shelters? Encampments? Their vehicles?

Making displacement faster is not a housing strategy. It is a displacement strategy.

What the Coalition Is Asking

The letter calls on the Speaker to ensure:

• House Judiciary reviews H. 772 before it advances
• The bill does not pass this session as written
• The Legislature pursues evidence-based approaches: back-rent assistance, access to legal representation, limits on application fees, and reforms to public eviction records

These are proven tools. They keep people housed. They do not strip due process from the people who have the least power to fight back.

What You Can Do

Contact your legislators. Ask them to oppose H. 772 in its current form. Ask them to listen to the neighbors this bill will harm. And ask them to demand the data before voting.

Our neighbors’ lives are not abstractions. They are your neighbors. They deserve to be heard.

Read our original blog post: Why Green Mountain Justice Opposes H. 772

Find your Vermont legislator: legislature.vermont.gov