The Homeowner Legal Assistance Project (HLAP) provides legal services to Vermont homeowners who are at risk of losing their housing due to financial hardship. We give quick advice to Vermont homeowners who have past-due:

• mortgage payments
• mobile home loan payments
• property taxes, or
• association fees

at their primary residence. We also represent homeowners in cases of foreclosure and mobile home “replevin” (a type of foreclosure) and assist homeowners to avoid losing their home to property tax sale.

We advocate for housing security for low- and moderate-income homeowners. For example, we helped to get Act 106 — a law that protects homeowners from unnecessarily losing their homes to tax sale — get passed into law. The law adds guardrails to the property tax collection process by requiring towns to:

• wait until a homeowner is at least 1 year behind on taxes before proceeding to tax sale
• offer reasonable repayments plans to homeowners before starting tax sale process
• give 30 days’ actual notice of tax sale to homeowners, and
• give notice to homeowners at least 90 days before their home transfers to a tax-sale purchaser with information about how to redeem the property.

“Thank you for all your support and help during the most difficult time in my life. Because of you and your staff, I am not homeless. Many blessings to you always.”

— Note from a recent client