Federal Updates
- HUD is extending the deadline to comment on the proposed AFFH regulations to Monday, April 24. Organizations can find a sample comment letter on the NLIHC website. NLIHC urges advocates to voice their support for the rule and offers suggestions on how to further strengthen the final version of the rule. Specifically, they suggest improving the proposed rule relating to community engagement, public transparency, and annual progress evaluations.
- The NMTC Extension Act of 2023 was introduced in the House last week. We covered the key components of the companion bill when it was introduced in the Senate back in February. The bill would:
- Permanently authorize the New Market Tax Credit program, which is currently set to expire in December 2025
- Create an annual program allocation of $5 billion dollars
- Adjust annually for inflation
- Exempt NMTCs made after Dec. 31, 2022 from the Alternative Minimum Tax.
State Legislative Updates
- Bill Tracker
Check out our Bill Tracker, which is updated with the latest housing-related bills. Bill(s) filed over the past week:
- S568 Create Dept. of Housing and Comm. Development (Batch, Garrett, Lowe)
Establishes statewide, cabinet level Housing & Community Development Dept.
Bans local governments from prohibiting the use of residential property for short term rentals or imposing limits on the minimum number of nights for a stay. Effectively scraps Asheville & Wilmington’s policies.
- H584=S633 Mobile Home Park Act (Meyer, Smith)
(Among other things, would require landlords to take steps to mitigate displacement when converting mobile home park to another use.)
- S583 Housing Studies – Barriers and Homelessness (Wadell)
Directs the Legislative Research Commission to study the needs and potential solutions to mitigate housing barriers for individuals with criminal records and to mitigate homelessness in the state.
- H569 = S555 Working Families Act (Marcus, Meyer, Mohammed)
Increases the limit on the income eligibility for the property tax homestead circuit breaker from 150% to 180% of the income eligibility limit. Directs NCHFA to establish a program under the Homeownership Fund to provide assistance to first-time homebuyers that are public servants. Appropriates $150 million in recurring funds from the General Fund to the Homeownership Assistance Fund for 2023-24 to be used to implement the act.
- House Passes a Budget & New Republican Supermajority
The NC House passed a budget last week. The Senate will approve their own version of the budget later this spring and the House & Senate will work together to create a budget to present to Gov. Roy Cooper. Gov. Cooper (D) will have less influence on the budget this year due to Republicans taking seats in November’s election and Rep. Tricia Cotham’s switch to the Republican Party, which officially gives the Republicans a supermajority in both the House and Senate and allows them to override a veto on the budget from Gov. Cooper.
State & Local Updates
- Mecklenburg County invites residents to share their thoughts, experiences and suggestions related to corporate landlords and corporate owned rentals. Residents can visit com to complete a survey and learn about upcoming community listening sessions.
- Renters at the Crest on Providence, a 473-unit naturally occurring affordable housing development in south Charlotte, received notices of nonrenewal last month. The owner plans to redevelop the 55-year old complex with upgraded units that command higher rents.
- DHIC, other groups aid growing need for affordable housing in Raleigh, Durham | Triangle Business Journal
- Raleigh City Council voted last week to approve a plan to address Dix Park’s effects on housing affordability, transportation, and displacement in the neighborhoods surrounding the park. The Dix Edge Final Report, which was released in June 2022, notes that neighborhoods near the park are losing naturally occurring affordable housing as property values rise in response to the Park’s creation. The plan calls for the development of nearly 300 units for low and very-low income families on city-owned property, the utilization of Affordable Housing Bond funds to pursue additional affordable housing opportunities, and an increase in market-rate housing for higher-income families.
- Last week, the Dare County Planning Board recommended that County Commissioners remove cluster homes from the allowable special uses in areas that aren’t zoned for multifamily housing. Dare County’s ordinance defines cluster housing as more than one long-term residence situated on a parcel. Between 2018 and 2019, Commissioners adopted amendments to allow cluster housing in an effort to increase workforce housing. The cluster concept received community pushback after an application was recently submitted for the development of 60 single family cluster homes on a 10-acre parcel.
Events
- [virtual] A Briefing from HUD on Boosting Landlord Voucher Acceptance | Bipartisan Policy Center, 4/14, 1-2 p.m.
Reports & Resources
- Pro-Housing Land Use and Zoning Reforms | HUD Office of Policy Development and Research
- Preliminary Analysis: Eviction Filing Patterns in 2022 | Eviction Lab
- How Public Housing Authorities are Addressing Equity | Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation
- How the FHFA Can Increase Federal Home Loan Bank Affordable Housing Investments | Urban Institute
In the News
- Residents are buying their mobile home parks—and preserving one of the last affordable housing options for low-income Americans | Fortune
- Millennial homeowners finally outnumber millennial renters | New York Times
- Rent payments helped boost credit scores, data finds | Wall Street Journal
- [Opinion] On missing middle in Raleigh | INDY Week