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Housing Call: December 5, 2023

Coalition Updates

Bringing it Home workshop proposals due January 12!

As preparations begin for the 2024 Bringing It Home Conference on Ending Homelessness in North Carolina on June 4-5, 2024, the NC Department of Health and Human Services ESG Office, the NC Coalition to End Homelessness, and the NC Housing Coalition are calling for presentation proposals.

Presentations will be 1 hour and 15 minutes long and include 10-15 minutes of Q&A or discussion. Presentations could be chosen as stand-alone sessions or chosen as a part of a panel. At this time, we are planning an in-person conference at the McKimmon Center in Raleigh. Please note that presentations need to include one or more of the topics of interest listed. Visit this link for more details as well as the submission form: https://nchousing.org/bringing-it-home-2024/.

 

Federal Updates

  • S Congressional lawmakers continue to work on passing spending bills by the new deadline(s) set recently by the two-tier, laddered CR signed into law on November 15, 2023. The Senate has passed 3 of the 12 annual spending bills including the THUD bill, the House has passed 7 spending bills, but both chambers have very different funding levels for federal programs.
    • In the Senate FY24 thud bill
      • $70.06 billion for HUD’s affordable housing, homelessness and community development programs (an increase of $8.26 billion over FY23 levels)
    • In the House FY24 draft
      • HUD is funded at $68.2 billion, a $6.4 billion or 10% increase over FY23 AND proposed deep cuts and elimination to several HUD programs.

We now know that cuts in any form, even in the form of maintaining current spending levels, will lead to people losing access to critical housing resources and services, putting thousands of households at risk.

New research from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) estimates that about 40,000 vouchers would expire upon turnover if the House’s funding levels are implemented, and an estimated 6,000 vouchers would be lost upon turnover if the Senate’s funding levels are implemented. In order to maintain the current level of services, and fully renew all existing voucher contracts, this will require at least $27.84 billion for vital HUD voucher programs.

Source: NLIHC 12/4 Federal Spending Conversations

  • Top Congressional leaders are also working quickly to reach a bipartisan agreement before the end of the year to expand the Child Tax Credit and revive several different business tax incentives – if successful – this tax package would also include resources to expand a reform of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program.
  • Engagement opportunity #1 – FY24 Spending Bill Advocacy & AHCIA 2023
    • Contact your senators and representatives and urge them to expand – not cut – investments in affordable, accessible homes through the FY24 spending bill, including full funding for NLIHC’s top priorities – which we at NCHC fully agree with:
      • Full funding to renew all existing contracts for the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) and Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) programs.
      • Full funding for public housing operations and repairs.
      • The Senate’s proposed funding for Homeless Assistance Grants.
      • Protecting $20 million in funding for legal assistance to prevent evictions in the Senate bill.
      • The House’s proposed funding for Native housing.
    • Sign on to a national letter calling on Congress to support the highest level of funding possible for affordable housing, homelessness, and community development resources in FY24.
  • Encourage your members to include any end-of-year tax package with LIHTC reforms that are outlined in the AHCIA 2023 so that the program can better serve those in need! Contact your members, especially those who serve on the Senate Finance Committee or House Ways & Means Committee – to urge them to ensure that any new LIHTC resources can reach households experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Ask your members of Congress to pair any expansion of LIHTC with key bipartisan reforms, including:
  • Expanding the basis boost – known as the Extremely Low-Income (ELI) Basis Boost – for housing developments that set aside at least 20% of units for households with extremely low incomes or those experiencing homelessness.
  • Designating Tribal and rural communities as “Difficult to Develop Areas” (DDAs), which would make it more financially feasible for developers to build affordable homes in these areas.

AHCIA 2023 Resources:

 

State Updates

Medicaid Expansion went into effect on Dec 1 allowing for approximately 600,000 additional North Carolina residents to be eligible for health care.

State Election Filing for 2024 contests Began Yesterday, Dec 4

These contests include all 14 of the state’s congressional seats, the governor’s race, the attorney general’s race, eight other statewide races including lieutenant governor, state auditor, and state treasurer, a seat on the N.C. Supreme Court, and three on the N.C Court of Appeals; all 170 state House and Senate races; and several other local races across the state.

 

State Legislative Updates

NCGA Lawmakers returned last Wednesday, and will convene about 5 or 6 more times between now and April 2024. The short session is set to begin on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The short session is the season held in the second – even – year of the biennium. During this session only certain matters can be considered, and are outlined in the adjournment resolution voted on in order to determine their eligibility. A matter can also be considered if authorized by a joint resolution passed by a two-thirds vote of each chamber’s members present and voting.

We will continue to monitor the bills discussed during the short session, particularly the ones we have already included in our bill tracker that survived crossover, as well as any bills directly affecting the State budget and other key matters that impact housing and community development.

See the Legislative Memo from November 13, 2023 summarizing the NCGA schedule, short session, and crossover bills (not all eligible bills for 2024).

Here is a list of 2023-2024 Legislation that has Effective dates of July 1, 2023 through January 1, 2024.

 

Local Community Updates

  • Affordable Housing Coming to Murphy: Valley River Apartments to Break Ground on December 1 | The Western North Carolina Housing Partnership and the Town of Murphy hosted a groundbreaking ceremony last week for a workforce housing development that is financed in part by housing tax credits and the Workforce Housing Loan Program, with additional support from the Dept of Commerce, Dogwood Health Trust, the Rural Economic Development Division, and the CDBG program. The Workforce Housing Loan Program, which is funded by the General Assembly, has assisted over 70 tax credit projects after a record $190M* allocation last year.
  • Senator Michael Lee signs check for Castle Hayne affordable senior housing | Sen. Michael Lee attended a check signing ceremony last week in Castle Hayne, where funds from the state Workforce Loan Program are helping to bridge a financing gap for a senior affordable housing project that was awarded tax credits in 2020. The project, like many, faced difficulties making the math work after pandemic-era increases in construction costs and inflation.
  • Wilson apartment complex remains empty with no developer to renovate | The Wilson Housing Authority is seeking Low Income Housing Tax Credit Developers to redevelop former affordable apartments for seniors. Tenants were forced out by poor conditions in 2019 and the Housing Authority has been unable to secure the $10M needed to renovate the building, citing the immense repair and rehab backlog HUD is facing with aging properties nationwide.
  • New Rocky Mount affordable housing development fully leased weeks before opening | A $9M affordable housing community in downtown Rocky Mount doesn’t open for a few more weeks, but it’s already fully leased-up. The project was financed through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant Program and the NC Housing Finance Agency’s housing tax credits. Developer Woda Cooper has a number of other affordable developments across Eastern NC, despite their recent decision to pull out of Dare County.
  • The Outer Banks Voice – Woda Cooper ends housing efforts in Dare County Affordable housing development company Woda Cooper announced last week that they are ending efforts to build workforce housing in partnership with Dare County. The company cited the obstacles resulting from community pushback as the reason. As we’ve discussed in previous housing calls, Woda Cooper’s efforts to build workforce housing in Dare County were halted twice this year. In Manteo, Woda Cooper’s plans to build workforce housing on County-owned land were halted when the Manteo Commissioners voted to not tie the project into the Town’s sewer system. Previously, in Nags Head, the zoning code was changed to effectively eliminate multifamily housing after Woda Cooper announced plans to build workforce housing.

The state legislature allocated $35 million to Dare County to build new affordable housing, but the contractor hired by the county to build a 400-unit development has faced opposition over the locations it’s considering for the project. To date, that developer, Coastal Affordable Housing LLC, is the only affordable developer still working with the County. But,in October  the six municipalities within Dare County jointly filed a lawsuit against the state after a provision was added to the state budget that exempts affordable housing projects funded by the state from local zoning regulations. House Speaker Tim Moore confirmed that the provision was added at the request of legislators from the area to overcome issues with zoning. Meanwhile, Dare County and other coastal communities experience hiring difficulties due to the high cost of living and lack of affordable options for service industry workers, teachers, police, and other essential workers. Last spring, Dare County government reported 64 vacancies.

 

Reports & Resources

 

Events

 

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Housing Call: November 28, 2023

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