Property Tax Relief Interview
Check out this week’s episode of the Housing Matters 2 NC podcast for an interview on property tax relief with Hudson Vaughan, Director of the Community Justice Collaborative.
Learn more about how levy limits might impact property taxes and what simple changes to existing property tax relief programs could result in substantial savings for impacted homeowners.
Bio: Hudson Vaughan, Director of the Community Justice Collaborative
Hudson joined the coalition in January 2024 to develop the Pilot Community Justice Collaborative. He comes to the coalition with 15+ years of community organizing, community development, and nonprofit leadership experience. Hudson co-founded and served for a dozen years as a director of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center, an oral history and community development center in historically Black neighborhoods of Chapel Hill/Carrboro. For the last several years, Hudson has served as a consultant for housing justice and community engagement efforts across North Carolina, with a particular interest in mobilizing tools and strategies to prevent displacement in historically Black neighborhoods and support community self-determination and racial equity. Hudson has a BA from UNC-Chapel Hill and MDiv from Duke Divinity School.
Organizational Updates
NC Housing Day 2026 is tomorrow! 177+ from across NC!
Housing is essential infrastructure, and voters are concerned about the rising cost of housing.
The NCGA has a critical role to play in funding housing solutions.
- Expand the NC Housing Trust Fund: Increase the biennial allocation to at least $10M. As our state’s most flexible resource, it leverages private capital to finance a variety of housing solutions, including home ownership and rental apartments, supportive housing, emergency repairs and rehabilitations for veterans and senior citizens, stabilizing the most vulnerable North Carolinians.
- Fund the Workforce Housing Loan Program (WHLP): Restore funding to WHLP. This program is a lifeline for rural counties and lower-wealth areas, providing the critical gap financing necessary to help workforce housing projects pencil out in areas where traditional lending falls short.
- Create an Affordable Housing Infrastructure Revolving Loan Fund: A one-time $50 million allocation to create a revolving loan fund to allow Habitat for Humanity affiliates and other eligible organizations to acquire, develop, and improve sites for affordable housing.
- Improve Property Tax Relief Programs: Implement common-sense reforms to improve existing property tax relief programs and bring targeted relief to North Carolinians most burdened with high property tax bills, without letting those who can contribute more off the hook.
Federal Updates
Advocacy Opportunity # 1: Work Requirements and Time Limits Proposed Rule – Comment Deadline May 1
On March 2, HUD proposed allowing public housing agencies and HUD-assisted owners to impose work requirements and time limits on assisted families. A recent CBPP analysis found that a two-year time limit on assistance would result in an estimated 3.3 million people losing their rental assistance, including 1.7 million children.
- Access resources about the Proposed Rule here and from our colleagues at CLASP here. Note that the CLASP site has a series of templates for those who want to submit their own comments.
HUD’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), “Establishing Flexibility for Implementation of Work Requirements and Term Limits,” would allow “well-performing” PHAs and PBRA owners to adopt work requirements for “work-eligible” adults of up to 40 hours per week. “Work-eligible” adults are defined in the NPRM as individuals ages 18 to 61 who are not people with disabilities, pregnant, or enrolled in higher education. The “work-eligible” definition also excludes primary caretakers for: a person with a disability, a child under six, or a person who is temporarily incapacitated.
The NPRM would also allow for time limits on assistance after two years for “non-elderly, non-disabled families.” The definitions of “elderly family” and “disabled family” in current HUD regulations are written in a way that, under HUD’s proposal, individual household members who are elderly or who have disabilities could be impacted by a time limit if the household itself is considered “non-elderly” and “non-disabled.”
The NPRM would apply to the following programs: public housing, Housing Choice Vouchers, Project-Based Vouchers (PBV), and PBRA.
Take action on the Work Requirements and Time Limits Proposed Rule by:
- Submitting your own comment, urging HUD to withdraw the proposed rule. The comment deadline is May 1 at 11:59 pm ET. Use NLIHC’s comment template to draft a comment that reflects your perspective.
State Updates
Governor Stein Releases Proposed Budget
On Tuesday, April 21, Governor Josh Stein released his 2026-27 Recommended Budget. Proposed supplemental affordable housing and community development funding includes:
- NC Housing Trust Fund ($35M, Nonrecurring) expands affordable housing, address emergency home repairs, and preserve existing affordable rental housing.
- Workforce Housing Loan Program ($15M, Nonrecurring) funds are used in combination with federal low-income housing tax credits to provide gap funding to make multifamily affordable housing development financially feasible in difficult-to-serve markets.
- Local Government Grants ($10M, Nonrecurring) funds the development of a new grant program for local governments to: 1) incentivize higher density zoning laws, which in turn increase housing supply and 2) align local regulations with statewide housing goals.
- Transitions to Community Living ($25M, Recurring) provides community-based supportive housing, tenancy assistance, and wraparound mental health services for individuals transitioning from or at risk of entering institutional care.
- $21.5M (Recurring) sustains services and covers increased housing costs for the 4,100 individuals in supportive housing.
- $3.5M (Recurring) adds 200 Innovations Waiver slots to provide critical home- and community-based services so additional individuals with intellectual and development disabilities can continue living in their homes or community settings.
Legislative Updates
Recent Legislation Filed
On April 23, H1042 – Affordable Housing Exemption Modifications was filed. The primary sponsors of the bill are Representatives Paré; Howard; Setzer; and Schietzelt. This bill comes from the same version recommended for filing by the House Committee on Property Tax Reduction & Reform at their April 15, 2026 meeting. No changes have been made to the draft since it was recommended by the committee for filing. Concerns or questions about the bill? Please reach out to our Policy Director Stephanie Watkins-Cruz, via email (swatkinscruz@nchousing.org) and put HB1041 in the subject line.
Parking Lot Reform – A Balanced Path Forward!
Last week our Director of Housing Policy Stephanie Watkins-Cruz joined dozens of individuals from across the state for a cross-sector coalition that included conservationists, builders, housing advocates, and more for an advocacy day dedicated to H369: Parking Lot Reform and Modernatization Act which passed the house unanimously last year during regular session, and now sits in the Committee on Rules and Operations of the Senate. This piece of legislation is one example of reasonable and balanced reform that can contribute to the overall lowering of development costs while keeping resiliency in mind.
Disaster Recovery Updates
If a Helene bill #3 will move, it will likely be at the start of the short session before the NCGA gets into the outstanding budget, and likely will be less than the Governor’s requested $792 million.
Local Headlines
FY 2026 Fair Market Rents Revised (incl. Asheville, Transylvania Co.) | The Federal Register
Displaced by luxury housing developer Toll Brothers, Chatham Estates residents demand compensation | Enlace Latino NC
Wake County convenes cross-sector leaders to help expand affordable housing | Wake County Government
Brunswick County moves forward with affordable teacher housing plan | WECT
Reports, Events, and Resources
Rebuilding after Helene: Mixed Progress in the Most Impacted Counties | NC Housing Finance Agency
Dreams Denied: Wells Fargo’s Troubling Pattern of Racial Disparities in North Carolina | Americans for Financial Reform
Events
2026 Piedmont Triad Regional Housing Summit | Thursday, April 30, 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at The Terrace at Greensboro Coliseum. Cost: $75. Learn more and register here.
[webinar] Bipartisan Policy Center Hosts Housing Innovators: Building the Future of Affordable Housing | May 5, 11 a.m.-12 p.m. Learn more and register here.
Affordable Housing Seminar: Tools, Strategies, and Case Studies for Local Government Leadership | UNC School of Government
May 7, 2026 in Marion, NC. Open to professionals and elected officials. Registration closes one week before the program. Click here to learn more and register. Course Cost: $270
Hendersonville Housing Summit | Wednesday, May 27, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. at Hendersonville High School. Learn more here.
- The event will feature an unveiling of the City of Hendersonville’s community-driven Strategic Housing Plan, an overview of new housing initiatives, and an opportunity to provide input to strengthen collaboration around housing affordability challenges.
- The summit is free and open to non-profit service providers, business representatives, government leaders, developers, lenders, affordable housing advocates, community members, and anyone committed to expanding and improving housing in Henderson County and across Western North Carolina.
2026 CAHEC Partners Conference | June 9 – 10 at the Raleigh Convention Center. Registration ends May 22. Learn more and register here.
