Help for Your Legal Problem

Emergency housing in a hotel or motel

The Vermont Department for Children and Families (DCF) manages the emergency housing hotel / motel program. If you are experiencing homelessness, call DCF’s Economic Services Division at 1-800-479-6151. It is better to call first thing in the morning if you can. If it is after hours or on the weekend, call 2-1-1.

Even if you are eligible for emergency housing, there may not be a motel or hotel room available in your area. DCF posts a list of availability every day on their website. Even if this chart says there is nothing available in your area, you should call the Economic Services Division. Ask if something has become available or if they can place you in another region.

If you have a disability or health condition that makes it hard for you to access this program or follow its rules, you should ask for an “accommodation.” If your request is denied, fill out our form and we will call you back. You can also call us at 1-800-889-2047. Be sure to give us some details about your problem. Give us as many details as possible about how to reach you. Your information will be sent to Legal Services Vermont, which screens requests for help for both Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont.

New rules started on July 1, 2024

On July 1, 2024, new emergency housing rules went into effect. You are eligible for up to 80 days in a motel in a 365-day period if you or a household member:

• is 65 or older
• has a disability (receives SSI or SSDI, or submits a verification form signed by a health care provider)
• is 19 or younger
• is pregnant
• has experienced the death of a spouse, domestic partner, or minor child that caused the household to lose its housing
• has experienced a natural disaster
• is under a court-ordered eviction or constructive eviction due to circumstances over which the household has no control
• is experiencing domestic violence or other dangerous or life-threatening violent conditions that caused the household to lose its housing.

You will have to pay 30% of your monthly income toward your motel room cost each month. You will also have to show that you have no available resources and no other housing options.

One of the ways to qualify for emergency housing is if you have a disability or serious medical condition. If so, you will need to ask a health care provider to fill out this form to give to DCF. The form asks if you have a disability or health condition that makes being unsheltered particularly dangerous to your health and welfare. You should be given up to four days of “provisional housing” in a motel while you work on verifications, including this form.

If a bed becomes available in a shelter, DCF may tell you that you need to move from a motel to the shelter. If you have a disability that makes it difficult or impossible for you to be in a shelter, you should request an exception.

Limit on motel rooms started September 15, 2024

Beginning September 15, 2024, there is a cap on the number of motel rooms in the emergency housing program. Because of the limit on motel rooms, some households will be turned away even though they are eligible for emergency housing.

DCF started a “prioritization” policy on September 15. Priority households are households with a member who is:

• age 19 or younger
• age 65 or older
• pregnant
• experiencing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, hate violence, or other dangerous or life-threatening conditions related to violence that caused the household to lose its housing
• age 50 or older AND eligible under one of these categories:
  • has a disability
  • has experienced the death of a spouse, domestic partner, or minor child that caused the household to lose its housing
  • has experienced a natural disaster, such as flood, fire, or hurricane
  • is under a court-ordered eviction or constructive eviction due to circumstances over which the household has no control (Constructive eviction means that you have been forced to leave because of a landlord’s action or inaction, such as threatening you, cutting off your utilities (or allowing them to be cut off), or not fixing an unsafe condition.)

If you are in a priority household, you will be able to call to renew your voucher up to 10 days in advance of the end of your current voucher. You will be granted vouchers for up to 28 days. You will be allowed to apply any time between 7:45 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

If your household does not have a member in one of the priority groups listed above, you will be granted vouchers for only 4 days at a time and will not be allowed to renew your voucher until the day the voucher is set to expire. You will only be allowed to apply between 12 p.m. (noon) and 4:30 pm.

If you are not in one of the priority categories but you have a disability or serious medical condition that makes it life-threatening for you to be unsheltered, you should contact DCF and tell them this. There is no clear plan to make exceptions for people in this situation, but you should contact DCF to tell them this and see if they can do anything to help you.

Ask DCF for notices

We recommend that you ask DCF to give you notices of any denial or termination or approval – by hand, by email, or by mail. This can help you keep track of how many days you have left.

If you think you should be eligible for emergency housing and have been kicked out or denied, fill out our form and we will call you back. You can also call us at 1-800-889-2047. Be sure to give us some details about your problem. Give us as many details as possible about how to reach you. Your information will be sent to Legal Services Vermont, which screens requests for help for both Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont. We will try to get back to you in the same day.

Was your security deposit withheld?

Were you in the Transitional Housing Program in 2023 with an occupancy agreement with the motel you were staying in? You may have had some or all of your security deposit withheld incorrectly when you moved out. These security deposits were paid to the motels on your behalf by the Vermont Department of Children and Families (DCF) to protect against damage or provide a payment at time of move out. A settlement has been reached with the owner of the following motels: Cortina Inn (Rutland); EconoLodge (Montpelier); Hilltop Inn (Berlin); Pine Tree Lodge (Rutland), and Quality Inn (Brattleboro).

If you stayed in one of these motels during 2023, you may be entitled to the return of some or all of your security deposit. Visit the Vermont Unclaimed Property website, select Person, and search for your name to see if there are funds waiting for you. You can then “claim” the money. If you have questions, contact the Office of the State Treasurer at 802-828-2301.

Where to find help

If you think you should be eligible for emergency housing and have been kicked out or denied, fill out our form and we will call you back. You can also call us at 1-800-889-2047. Be sure to give us some details about your problem. Give us as many details as possible about how to reach you. Your information will be sent to Legal Services Vermont, which screens requests for help for both Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont. We will try to get back to you in the same day.

We recommend contacting Community Action agencies or calling 211 to see if your community has other housing options.

More information: See our page with resources for people who are homeless.