Organization Updates
Register Today for NC Housing Day 2026!
NC Housing Day is hosted by Habitat for Humanity NC, the NC Housing Coalition, the NC Community Land Trust Coalition, and the NC Coalition to End Homelessness. On Tuesday, April 28, we will gather for training and networking, and on Wednesday, April 29, we will gather at Halifax Mall and meet with legislators at the General Assembly.
Registration for NC Housing Day is open today through – April 3, 2026
Save the Date: Bringing It Home 2026
Save the Date for this year’s Bringing It Home: Ending Homelessness in NC conference on May 27-28, 2026 at the McKimmon Center in Raleigh! Homelessness services professionals and allies will gather to learn, network, and collaborate with industry experts from across North Carolina and beyond.
Bringing It Home: Ending Homelessness in NC is a statewide conference dedicated to ensuring that homelessness in North Carolina is rare, brief, and one time only. The two-day conference will include presentations, panels, and workshops covering a broad range of topics related to homelessness. The conference is hosted by the NC Housing Coalition, NC Coalition to End Homelessness, and the NC DHHS ESG Office.
Registration will open in March. Sign up for updates, or check out our Bringing It Home 2026 Conference Page. Contact skirby@nchousing.org with any questions.
Federal Updates
Bipartisan Housing Legislation Passes the House
Last night, the House passed the Housing in the 21st Century Act, their bipartisan housing package aimed at boosting housing supply, with a vote of 390-9. The bill includes 27 provisions related to streamlining local, state, and federal processes; reforming federal programs, including the HOME Investment Partnership program, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, and Rural Housing Service (RHS) programs; manufactured housing; veterans’ access to housing; housing counseling; rental housing for elderly and disabled residents; and federal program oversight. The Senate passed their own bipartisan housing package, The ROAD to Housing Act, in October. The House and Senate now have to work together to create a version of legislation that both the House and Senate will support.
Here are some of the pieces that stand out in the Housing in the 21st Century Act:
- Directs HUD to develop frameworks for best practices on zoning and land-use policies.
- Supports local governments in speeding up the permitting and home building process by providing grants to create pattern books full of pre-approved, standardized plans and designs.
- Allows HUD to establish federal guidelines for point-access block buildings (i.e., single staircase apartments with 3 or more stories).
- Simplifies the National Environmental Protection Act for review of housing-related activities among other things.
- Modernizes the HOME Investment Partnership Program by including the HOME Reform Act.
- Requires CDBG grantees to provide non-binding plans to review any overly burdensome local land use policies.
- Allows for greater use of Rural Housing Service Section 504 grants.
- Includes the Choice in Affordable Housing Act allowing units financed through LIHTC, the HOME Program, and the Department of Agriculture Rural Housing Service to automatically meet HCV inspections requirements if they passed an inspection within the past year.
- Allows new landlords to request advance inspections to expand housing options and increase landlord participation in the voucher program.
- Allows HUD to implement a multi-year demonstration project that would test and evaluate an opt-out approach to the Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) program.
If you want to compare the two bills – Road to Housing Act and the Housing for the 21st Century Act, check out this recent analysis done by the Bipartisan Policy Center here.
Shutdown Ends After Four Days
Last Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 7148 to fund a large portion of the federal government through September 3, 2026, and the President quickly signed it, effectively ending the four-day partial shutdown. Appropriations Bill H.R. 7148 provides funding for U.S Departments of Housing & Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Defences, State, and Treasury, and provides temporary funding for the Department of Homeland Security through February 13 while they work on a deal.
Federal Awards Management System Proposes Changes to Nonprofit Certification
The General Services Administration (GSA) posted a notice announcing its intentions to amend the certification requirements for non profits in the federal System for Award Management (SAM) for nonprofits with federal grants, in order to ensure that the nonprofits “align with updated executive branch guidance” on discrimination as it is defined in the June 2025 DOJ Memo which labels programs and activities labeled as “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs” are considered “discriminatory practices”. They are accepting comments through March 30, 2026 at 11:59pm EST. Click here to provide input.
HUD Income Limits Data Delayed Until May 1
The fall government shutdown delayed the release of the American Community Survey data, which is used to calculate HUD Income Limits. Income limits will now be published on May 1. Check out this post from Novogradac detailing what to expect from FY 26 Income Limits.
State Updates
Legislative Updates
This Week
- The House Select Committee on Involuntary Commitment and Public Safety is meeting TODAY 1:00pm in 643 LOB. For more details click here.
Next Week
- The House Select Committee on Property Tax Reduction and Reform is meeting at 10:00am in 643 LOB. For more details click here.
Disaster Recovery Updates
Governor Stein Advocates for Western NC in DC
Last month, Governor Stein met with North Carolina’s Congressional delegation and senior leadership of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Washington, D.C., to advocate for western North Carolina’s recovery. Among other things, Governor Stein’s $13.5 billion federal appropriation request includes money for repairing roads, rebuilding homes, and providing more accessible loans to local governments as recovery continues to strain their finances.
Private Road and Bridge Repair Program Open Through End of Month
The deadline to apply for North Carolina Private Road and Bridge Program repair reimbursements is Feb. 28. This program was established to help property owners across western North Carolina recoup a portion of qualifying costs associated with repairing private roads and bridges damaged by Hurricane Helene. All resources and respective deadlines can be found here.
Local Headlines
Asheville eases rules on accessory dwelling units | Blue Ridge Public Radio
Chapel Hill searches for ways to make housing more affordable amid rapid growth | NC Newsline
Success in Durham has other tenant groups eyeing housing code changes | NC Newsline
New Census data: NC population is among fastest-growing, despite drop in international migration | WUNC News
[commentary] When the heat turns on, bills shouldn’t break families | NC Newsline
Opinion: Affordable Housing and Urban Resilience Aren’t at Odds, They’re Natural Allies | WHQR
Reports & Resources
Curbing the Insurance Spiral: Policy and Practitioner Strategies to Help Stabilize Multifamily Affordable Housing | Enterprise Community Partners
Curbing the Insurance Spiral, a new report from Enterprise, examines the insurance crisis and offers concrete, actionable pathways forward. Recommendations, guidance, and tools are shared across the report’s two toolkits– one geared toward housing providers and a second toolkit focused on state and federal policymakers
Housing Recovery in Western North Carolina | NC Rural Center
Recovery Resource Hub | Governor’s Recovery Office for Western NC
Redefining “Family” Neighborhoods in North Carolina | CITYBUILDER & Single Stair NC
Affordable Housing Proposal Targets Individual Investors | Novogradac
Creating High-Opportunity Neighborhoods: Evidence from the HOPE VI Program | Opportunity Insights (New study from Raj Chetty et al.)
Housing affordability crisis: Higher earners drive home prices, not lack of supply, researchers say | Fortune
Household Mobility Fell to Record Low in 2024 | Joint Center for Housing Studies
Housing Unaffordability Soared to New Highs in 2024 | Joint Center for Housing Studies
Events
[webinar] Fair Housing in Action: Preventing Bias and Advancing Equity | National Community Reinvestment Coalition, Thursday, February 12 from 2 – 3:30 p.m. Register here.
NC Women’s Affordable Housing Network (NCWAHN) Galentine’s Day Happy Hour and Trivia Night | Tuesday, February 17, drop in between 5-8 p.m. at Heist Brewery at Camp North End
[webinar] Understanding the Rapid Rise in Rural Home Prices | Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, Friday, February 20, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
[webinar] Vacancy Persists: But it Looks Different, and the Rules Have Changed | Center for Community Progress, February 26, 12 p.m. Register here.
[webinar] HUD’s Office of Policy Development & Research (PD&R) Quarterly Update | Wednesday, March 4 from 2 – 4 p.m. Register here.
This update is focused on homelessness and the path ahead for policymaking
Housing Policy Forum & Capitol Hill Day 2026 | National Low Income Housing Coalition, March 10-13, 2026 at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. Learn more and register here.
UNC School of Government Community Development Academy | March 17-19 and April 14-16, 2026 in Chapel Hill, Course Cost: $935
This intensive course is designed for community development practitioners and covers the concepts, methods, and strategies of community economic development. It provides practitioners with perspectives and practical skills surrounding community development in North Carolina.
National Community Investment Conference | March 23-26 in Phoenix, AZ.
Early bird registration ends February 20
Just Economy Conference 2026 | National Community Reinvestment Coalition, April 14-15, 2026 at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. Learn more and register here.
