ORHA Now Accepting VRP Applications
MILFORD—Otsego Rural Housing Assistance Inc. is accepting applications from property owners for the Otsego County Vacant Rental Program from March 16 to April 27. The Otsego County VRP is funded by New York State Homes and Community Renewal’s New York State Vacant Rental Program. ORHA has partnered with Opportunities for Otsego to collaborate on bringing this program to the county, officials said.
Through the Otsego County VRP, ORHA will provide assistance of up to $50,000.00 or $75,000.00 per rental unit to eligible property owners seeking to rehabilitate or repair vacant spaces in Otsego County. In return, property owners will be required to rent only to households below a certain income limit for 10 years, charge rent within an annual limit, offer 12-month leases, and maintain the units in good condition.
According to a press release, properties will be selected through a competitive application process. Interested property owners can access application materials and more information about the program at otsegoruralhousing.org/vrp. Property owners may also contact ORHA to request application materials.
“Our plan is to assist at least nine units, with room for more based on actual project costs,” said ORHA Executive Director Bridget Stith. “We received a strong response to our owner interest survey in the fall, so I’m expecting that we’ll see a lot of applications for this program.
“I would strongly recommend applying during this first round. If we’re inundated with more applications for great projects than we could ever hope to fund, we’ll focus on those instead of opening to more applications down the line,” Stith said.
ORHA was one of 11 nonprofits and governments across the state to be given a VRP award in this latest round of funding.
New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said, “Under Governor Hochul, we are using every tool we have to create and preserve affordable housing across New York. The Vacant Rental Program has provided more than $56 million to transform over 830 vacant and distressed units into safe, affordable homes. Thank you to Otsego Rural Housing Assistance Inc. for being our vital partner in giving individuals and families the chance to stay and thrive in their own communities.”
Proposed projects and the property owners themselves must meet certain eligibility requirements to be considered for an award. Eligible projects would rehabilitate or repair vacant spaces in Otsego County that either are already residential units or could be converted into residential units by the project.
Properties must have no more than five residential units to be eligible. Spaces must be unoccupied, and the vacancy must be because the unit is in uninhabitable or unmarketable condition. Mobile and manufactured homes are not eligible. Property owners must meet minimum responsibility requirements, such as being current on property taxes and having no history of fair housing violations. All eligibility requirements and application scoring criteria are available on the ORHA website, officials said.
Assisted units would be subject to a 10-year regulatory period, during which owners would be required to rent only to tenants with a household income below 60 percent or 80 percent of the area median income ($54,720.00 or $72,950.00 for a family of four), charge rent within an annual maximum, offer 12-month leases, and maintain the unit in good condition. Rent limits would be calculated based on each unit’s size and utilities, and would change every year. As an example, a three-bedroom unit where all utilities would be included would currently have a maximum allowable rent of $1,897.00 (for a $50,000.00 award) or $1,422.00 (for a $75,000.00 award).
ORHA can be reached for questions about this program at (607) 286-7244 or VRP@otsegoruralhousing.org.
