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Housing Call: October 29, 2024

Organizational Updates

VISTA Opportunities: Housing Counseling Communications

Kingdom CDC in Spring Lake, NC and Prosperity Unlimited, Inc. in Kannapolis, NC are each looking for a Communications VISTA to join them for a year of learning and capacity building services.

Housing counseling is a vital part of the housing ecosystem, providing critical guidance for homebuyers and increasing the financial health of their communities.This is a great opportunity to learn more about the housing landscape, strengthen your communication skills, and reduce poverty in North Carolina. Learn more and apply.

 

Hurricane Helene

 

State Updates

Last week, Governor Roy Cooper in collaboration with the Office of State Budget & Management (OSBM) released a report containing a preliminary assessment of the damage caused by Hurricane Helene and the level of need for federal and state resources. OSBM suggests that the overall impact of the damage from Hurricane Helene is “likely to exceed $53 billion.” The overall damage to housing is estimated to be $14.7 billion according to OSBM. According to State Budget Director Kristen Walker, about 92% of the 126K homes in WNC damaged by Helene did not have flood insurance. It’s clear that the wide-spread housing needs will not be fully met or covered by private insurance, FEMA IA, and CDBG-DR.

On Thursday,  the General Assembly passed the second round of disaster recovery aid and Gov. Cooper signed it into law on Friday. We were disappointed to see that housing was not mentioned much. $1M of the $604M allocated in the bill will be spread between county departments of social services to provide rental assistance to households at or below 200% of the federal poverty level who have suffered hardship due to the impacts of Hurricane Helene and are facing imminent risk of eviction. Eligible households can receive a one-time payment up to the HUD local area Fair Market Rents measure for a two-bedroom unit.

As the recovery focus shifts to temporary and short-term housing for survivors whose homes are uninhabitable, FEMA is offering competitive compensation to private landlords who agree to house displaced families. Some owners that are grandfathered in under STR restrictions in some communities like Brevard and Asheville are hesitant to rent directly to FEMA because they will lose their nonconforming use status during the time they are renting to FEMA. City officials are considering how to address this.

During this time, it’s also important that tenants’ rights remain a priority.  FEMA’s higher rents are likely to have negative impacts such as the displacement and eviction of long-term tenants in exchange for higher rents. We know this was an issue in Hawaii after the Maui wildfires and expect it to be an issue in WNC as well.

Local Updates

The City of Greensboro recently purchased the former Regency Inn on O. Henry Blvd in Greensboro. The existing structure will be demolished this week, and the City will welcome proposals from prospective developers. A Request for Proposals for the development of the property will be released sometime this week. This marks the third attempt to develop the property in recent years. Since 2021, the city has entered into 2 failed partnerships with permanent supportive housing developers to develop the site.

 

Federal Updates

  • We’re one week away from election day! Early voting locations will be open through 3pm on Saturday. We know of housing bonds on the ballot in Chapel Hill ($15M), Cary ($30M), Charlotte ($100M), and Asheville ($20M) and will be keeping an eye on those.
  • In late September, Congress passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government funded through December 20 while they work out the FY2025 budget (which started on October 1). Congress will return from recess on November 12 and will have a little over a month to reach an agreement on a budget or pass another CR that would push any decisions into the next Congress. They’re also expected to pass an emergency relief package for Helene and Milton, but specifics remain unclear.

Last week, the US Department of Housing & Urban Development announced a partnership with NC Central University School of Law’s Social Justice and Racial Equity Institute. Through the partnership, NCCU law students will join fair housing practitioners and attorneys from across the nation to participate in fair housing litigation courses offered through HUD’s National Fair Housing Training Academy (NFHTA). Beginning this spring, NCCU will also offer a fair housing litigation course taught by NCCU and NFHTA faculty. The partnership aims to expand students’ exposure to real-world enforcement of fair housing cases and will provide student internship and career opportunities within HUD-funded fair housing partner agencies to grow and sustain fair housing efforts.

Earlier this month, Fannie Mae announced the expansion of the Expanded Housing Choice initiative to provide new loans to multifamily developers who accept Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers in communities without source of income protections. The program was first launched in April 2022 as a pilot in eligible communities in NC and TX. The program will now be available to borrowers in all jurisdictions nationwide without source of income protections. At least 40% of units developed by the borrower must be affordable at or below Fair Market Rents.

 

Events

 

Reports/Resources

 

In the News

Recommended read

Housing Call: October 22, 2024

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