Organizational Update
This week we are happy to announce that we will be releasing our 2026 County Profiles! After the longest federal government shutdown in history last year, a big portion of the data we rely on was delayed. We are really thankful for your continued support and patience with this updated timeline for releasing the county profiles. When we release the profiles later this week we’ll also include data highlights and key takeaways from our analysis this year.
If you want to see county profiles from the past several years, here is a gallery that you can use to view and download past profiles.
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
FEMA Included in DHS Budget Negotiations
This week Members of Congress are returning to Capitol Hill after a weeklong recess to continue negotiations over a final fiscal year (FY) 2026 spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This is the last spending bill Congress needs to enact for FY26. One key part of this appropriations bill also provides funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to carry out disaster response and recovery efforts. FEMA has been a part of DHS since 2003. Currently even though the department is enduring this shutdown, FEMA will continue to have access to its disaster relief fund in order to meet near-term disaster related obligations. Congress also has the ability to provide additional funding to FEMA separately from DHS through a disaster supplemental bill.
We do not support the deadly force used across the nation in vulnerable and marginalized communities including several in our state.
We do however support the bipartisan “Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act of 2025” (H.R.4669) which would restore FEMA as an independent agency and implement several improvements that would allow the agency to respond faster, and with increased fairness, flexibility, and efficiency to disaster survivors across the country.
Many of you have already signed on to the support letter but we also urge you to reach out to our congressional delegation and remind them that Disaster relief and recovery should never be used as a political bargaining chip. Join us and industry partners across the country in urging them to pass the FEMA act, as well as a separate, and long overdue supplemental spending bill for disaster survivors.
HUD Proposes Rule Requiring Verification of Citizenship or Eligible Immigration Status of All Members of Households Receiving Assistance
The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a proposed rule last Friday, requiring verification of US citizenship or the eligible immigration status of all applicants and recipients of federal housing assistance, regardless of age. Under the proposed rule, any prorated assistance would be temporary pending the verification of eligibility status of all family members. Early analysis tells us that this proposal would cause an estimated 80,000 families to lose their housing assistance, this includes U.S. citizens, and nearly 37,000 children. The Notice of Proposed Rule Making or (NPRM) is entitled “Housing and Community Development Act of 1980: Verification of Eligible Status”. It mirrors an attempt made in 2019 by the Trump Administration to break up or evict mixed-status families in HUD assisted housing. However, this time, the proposal creates citizenship verification requirements for all households living in HUD-assisted housing, including over 4.3 million households with a U.S. citizen.
Comments on the proposed rule are due by April 21. Click here to view the HUD Proposed Rule published on February 20, 2026 in the Federal Register.
Additional Resources
- To view the demographic impact of this proposal click
- HUD Publishes Proposed Mixed-Status Rule
- Pathways to Support Mixed-Status Immigrant Families Receiving Federal Housing Assistance
- Updated Analysis of Final FY26 HUD Bill Now Available | National Low Income Housing Coalition
State Updates
Legislative Updates & Headlines
State House Continues to Discuss Property Tax Reforms
The next House Select Committee on Property Tax Relief & Reform will meet on March 18, 2026 at 10:00am.
Conversations continue with lawmakers around the issues raised in the last several committee meetings. Here at the NC Housing Coalition, we believe that State law makers should focus property tax relief efforts on taxpayers most burdened by unaffordable housing costs, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach that disproportionately harms seniors, and people with fixed incomes, as well as hindering the ability and fiscal health of local governments across our state. We should focus on improving existing property tax relief programs that North Carolinians already support, and that need to be modernized. Recent discussions have been about levy limits and assessment and tax rate caps. We know from extensive research that many of these models not only make property tax less fair, but they hamstring local services. Which is counterproductive during a time when a) local governments are trying to step up consistently when federal and state funding has been inadequate, and b) the slew of federal policy changes and administrative shifts is resulting in additional costs and burdens for our state and local governments.
Disaster Recovery Housing Updates
NC AG Jeff Jackson joins motion to release FEMA rebuilding funds | NC Newsline
Our North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson is one of almost two dozen state leaders around the country that are asking federal courts to compel the release of FEMA resilience funds which include more than $200 million for North Carolina projects.
47 Buncombe County properties will be first to receive Helene buyout offers | WLOS
Local Headlines
North Charlotte church looking to add affordable housing on its sprawling campus | Queen City News
New Mecklenburg County report shows evictions on the rise | Queen City News
Mecklenburg County finds affordable housing stock has plummeted | WFAE
City’s 2026 Legislative Agenda Seeks New Tools to Ease Rising Housing Burden | WS Chronicle
How can Greensboro spread affordable housing more evenly across the city? | WHQR
Chapel Hill granted $3 million for community projects in affordable housing, sidewalk improvements | Daily Tar Heel
Habitat for Humanity and area pastors at odds over affordable housing | NC Newsline
From sanctuary to senior housing, Milner Commons reflects shifting needs | NC Health News
City-County Liaison Committee Meets to Discuss Regional Priorities and Homelessness Response | Cumberland County
Reports & Research
2025 North Carolina Legislation Related to Planning and Development | UNC School of Government
This bulletin provides an overview of notable changes that the General Assembly made to the laws related to planning and development regulations during the 2025 legislative long session. The changes are organized by topic, covering such areas as zoning (including down-zoning), infrastructure, amendments to 2024 Helene-recovery legislation, environmental regulations, the State Building Code, and local bills of interest. Like earlier summary bulletins in this series, this one includes a checklist to help local governments ensure that they are complying with amended state law.
Housing Recovery in Western North Carolina | NC Rural Center
The NC Rural Center has released a new report on how Hurricane Helene impacted Western North Carolina’s housing stock, and what FEMA surveys tell us about the areas most impacted for both owner and renter occupied households. Road to Recovery: Housing Recovery in Western North Carolina documents the most impacted counties, the reasons why our estimates might be undercounts due the structure of federal programs, and other various elements impacting recovery efforts.
The State of the Union Is Expected to Focus on Affordability. What Does the Evidence Say Works? | Urban Institute
State of the Union is February 24 at 9 p.m.
More States Requiring Landlords to Disclose Flood Risk, but Laws Vary Nationwide | Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University
How Housing Matters for Educational, Health, and Economic Outcomes | Urban Institute
Research Article Associations Between Housing Stability and Food Insecurity Among US Low-Wage Workers | American Journal of Preventative Medicine
Events
[webinar] How to File Your Taxes for Free in 2026 | The NC Tax Coalition is hosting a webinar on Tuesday, Feb 24th from 12:00 – 12:45pm to share information on free and low-cost tax filing options for the 2026 tax season. This webinar is designed for organizations and advocates who work directly with North Carolinians and want to ensure their communities have access to up-to-date tax-filing resources. Click here to register.
[webinar] Vacancy Persists: But it Looks Different, and the Rules Have Changed | Center for Community Progress, Thursday, February 26 at 12 p.m. Register here.
[webinar] Understanding Affordable Housing Pro Formas: A Case Study from an NC Community | UNC School of Government, Thursday, February 26 from 12 – 1pm. Click here to register.
Join Carolina Across 100 on February 26, 2026, from 12:00-1:00 PM for a free public webinar focused on helping local governments and their partners understand how to read an affordable housing pro forma, a financial model used to assess a development’s feasibility. The Development Finance Initiative will discuss the components of a pro forma, help participants know what information to look for to support community decision making, and walk through a real-world example in North Carolina. There will be time for audience Q&A.
[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. Virtual registration closes at 2pm on Tuesday, March 3.
NC Women’s Affordable Housing Network Washington (N.C.) Happy Hour | Wednesday, March 4, 5-7 p.m. Learn more and register here.
[webinar] Innovations Designed to Deliver the Promise of Homeownership | Urban Institute, Monday, March 16, 1-5 p.m. 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.
2026 Rural Summit | March 26-27 at the Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley
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.
