Burlington is unaffordable.
Rents have increased for a 1 bedroom by 34% and a 2 bedroom by 28%, from 2018 to 2024.
The median sale price of a home is $515,000 as of September 2025.
Code is not adequately enforced and many renters are being taken advantage of.
The cost of basics like food, utilities, and trash are expensive.
The city has a role to play in making life more affordable for average people. While Trump makes things worse with trade wars, spats with Canada, and inducing a recession, and while state pursues half measures that don’t meet the moment, we need to be as aggressive as possible in addressing the unaffordability of Burlington for working and middle class residents.
Our Affordability Agenda
1. Record Investment in Affordable Housing
By doubling the tax on hotel rooms and airbnb’s we can invest 1 to 3 million dollars in new funding to our city’s Housing Trust Fund to create new permanently affordable housing.
2. Cut the cost of Trash, Recycle, & Compost
City run recycling is cheaper per household than private companies. We will consolidate residential and commercial recycling and drive prices down even further. We will expand consolidated public ownership to compost and trash, it will lowers the price per household even further. That means cheaper trash, recycle and compost pickup for every Burlingtonian every month.
3. Give residents the money they are entitled to.
Lets hire 1-4 full time staff to knock doors across Burlington, and make sure residents are taking advantage of every rebate, incentive, or discount that our city offers. Money in you pocket for electrifying your energy, installing a car charging, putting in a rain garden and more - hundreds to thousands of dollars are available to residents. This is relatively cheap, makes existing programs more effective, and puts money directly into residents’ pockets.
4. Freeze Rents
It’s time we gave the 60% of residents who rent in Burlington some relief
on rent, the private market clearly hasn’t. We need to pass a rent stabilization charter change that empowers the city to regulate how much landlords can increase rent annually. We need renewed pressure on Montpelier to respect the will of Burlington voters and pass Just Cause Eviction.
5. Tax the Burlington Country Club
If the country club is taking up massive swaths of land that could be much needed housing, they need to pay a much greater share in taxes to the community, not get the kind of financial breaks they received during the pandemic. We can rezone the land, and increase the amount they pay and invest those funds into our housing trust fund to build permanently affordable housing.