Shires Housing

We have rental apartments in Bennington, Arlington, Shaftsbury, and Manchester. Check out what we have currently available here.

To us, affordable means that households making between 30 and 80% of area median income (AMI) do not have to pay more than 35-40% of their incomes for rent and utilities. Each of our units is designated by our funders to be affordable for a specific income level. 

Our apartments are kept below fair market value for those living in Bennington County because we receive grants and private funding to drive down the cost of construction and allow us to keep rents attainable. However, renters do not receive direct assistance in paying rent.

Subsidized housing, on the other hand, usually refers to publicly-managed housing where rent is based on how much a household makes. In Bennington County, the Bennington Housing Authority is the only provider of this type of housing. In addition, Bennington Housing Authority and Vermont State Housing Authority provide section 8 vouchers for households living in privately-owned housing. THM also has RD housing and the rent is based on 30% of the resident’s income and the balance is subsidized.

We primarily serve households that earn between 30 and 80% of area median income (if you don’t speak in percentages like we do, for a family of 3 this is $20k to $53k).

Where opportunities arise, we do serve a wider range of people since we know that, in our community, people outside of the 30-80% range face substantial housing challenges as well. 

For example, we work with the Bennington Housing Authority and Vermont State Housing Authority to accommodate households with section 8 voucher assistance. We also have a limited number of units available to households making up to 120% of area median income as well as some units that have no income restrictions at all.

Yes, we pay municipal property taxes and school taxes on all buildings and land that we own. Additionally, most communities find that investments in affordable housing enhance local tax revenues by improving and increasing the value of substandard housing stock, often spurring other landlords to invest in their units. Thus, rather than low or no taxes on distressed properties, towns see substantial payback from the work of non-profit affordable housing providers.

Shires Housing manages 375 apartments, including units in Bennington, Shaftsbury, Arlington, and Manchester. We grew exponentially in 2017 when, in partnership with Housing Vermont, we conducted an extensive energy rehab of the 104 homes at Applegate Apartments. In our area, where unused and dilapidated buildings are abundant and housing is greatly needed, we are frequently contacted by landlords, towns, community organizations, and individuals to help develop and manage new housing opportunities. As the largest provider of quality, affordable housing in southwestern Vermont we are proud to continue to work with partners to fill these gaps.

Shires Housing is not a Section 8 housing provider. Our apartments are reasonably-priced for low- and moderate-income families, but residents do need to have enough income to afford our apartments since rent is not subsidized. Shires Housing primarily serves households with incomes between 30% and 80%of area median income. We do accept qualified applicants who have section 8 vouchers and have a limited number of project-based vouchers through the Vermont State Housing Authority (currently, 6% of our units). While we understand the deep need for emergency housing and housing for those whose income is under 30% of area median income, we rely on and support committed community partners like the BHA who are focused on these gaps. 

For currently available units we do not typically have a waitlist. When people apply and are either not eligible for what we have currently available or require a unit in a different location or additional accessibility accommodations we will put them on a waitlist. Each time a unit becomes available, we comb through our waitlists to see if the unit is well-suited for any waitlisted applicants.

Thank you for your interest in a Shires apartment. You can expect a notification within two weeks whether your application has been accepted or denied. We will let you know immediately if further information or documentation is needed that will delay your application being processed.

In addition to making sure they fit income limits, we screen each application on a case by case basis by conducting a credit check, contacting previous landlords, and checking criminal history. Since our residents do pay electricity we need to verify that they do not have substantial utility debt through a credit check, but we do not deny applicants for poor credit alone.

Our apartments have fixed rents based on funding received. That means we will find a unit with a rent that fits what you can pay, rather than your rent being based on your income. The only time rents are determined based on an applicant’s or resident’s income is when they have a voucher with either the Vermont State Housing Authority or Bennington Housing Authority.

Rent includes heat hot water, trash and snow removal, and (in most cases) off-street parking. At our Cora B. Whitney Senior Apartments electricity is also included in rent.

We accept one pet cat with a $100 security deposit. We do not accept pet dogs. 

Many of our properties do have on-site coin-operated laundry facilities or washer and dryer hook-ups. Check with a property manager about laundry access in specific units.

Rent amount and the decision to raise rent amounts are not directly linked to your income. If you start making more (or less) your rent will not be changed as a direct result. That said, we do annually raise rents as needed based on our costs and as is reasonable for our renters. Typically, increases are between 0 and 5% per year. We work to make sure each household can afford any increase and has at least 60 days notice of an increase.

We do recertify our residents’ incomes annually, but typically if your income goes up you will not be disqualified from renting your unit. While you have to qualify in order to be placed into a unit, as long as your household income stays within 140%} of the limitation nothing would change for you. If you do exceed that 140%, sometimes we can shift limitations within our properties.    

On the other end, if you fall on hard times and have trouble affording the rent, we will help you to access resources that may be available to you (e.g. vouchers through the Vermont State Housing Authority or Bennington Housing Authority). We do not have the funding/subsidies to directly support gaps you may face but we do work with residents to set up payment plans, in cases where that is feasible for them.

While we do factor in all assets when determining eligibility, having assets usually does not disqualify an applicant who is otherwise qualified. Assets are factored in as income at a very discounted rate (only 0.06%). Per regulation, regular, periodic withdrawals are treated as income, but one-time withdrawals are not.