Housing Call: February 7, 2023 – North Carolina Housing Coalition

NCHC Updates

Coalition Sign-on Letter in support of protecting NCHFA’s enabling statute

The Coalition is concerned about a renewed push from NCGA staff to resurrect language from the 2021 Appropriations Bill that would have altered the statutes governing the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency (NCHFA). Our three primary concerns are that this language:

could impact NCHFA’s ability to leverage private capital;
Could delay implementation of HOME and Housing Trust Fund money; and
Would put NCHFA on a two year budget cycle, in which funds like the Workforce Housing Loan Program or the Rental Production Program that have not been dispersed could be swept back into the General Fund.

If your agency is interested in signing on to a letter to NCGA leadership that stresses the importance of protecting the NCHFA enabling statute, please reach out to hsolomon@nchousing.org and send us a logo. If you have any questions, please reach out to sgunter@nchousing.org.

County Profiles

If you haven’t already been able to check out our 2023 County Profiles, please do so! We’ll provide a link to them in the call notes. Feel free to share them with your networks, elected officials, fellow advocates, and any interested parties. If you have questions about our County Profiles please feel free to reach out to Anna Patterson, apatterson@nchousing.org and/or Stephanie Watkins-Cruz at swatkinscruz@nchousing.org.

Another helpful resource to share with elected officials or to use in your own advocacy and organizing efforts, is our 2023 Policy Agenda, which we will also link in the call notes.

For questions about our Policy Agenda, email Stephanie Watkins-Cruz at swatkinscruz@nchousing.org or Samuel Gunter at sgunter@nchousing.org.

Federal Updates

The State of the Union is tonight at 9 p.m. President Biden is expected to address the economy and infrastructure. In the weeks following the SOTU, Biden is expected to announce his 2024 reelection plans.
President Biden and House Speaker McCarthy met last week to begin federal spending negotiations. The US reached the debt limit in January and House Speaker McCarthy indicates he will require Democrats to reduce spending in exchange for talk of raising the debt ceiling. Housing advocates are concerned that HUD spending could be affected in the FY24 budget. President Biden would like to see Congress pass a clean debt ceiling increase and keep appropriations separate from debt ceiling negotiations. See the NLIHC writeup for more info.
Global Minimum Tax Implementation Guidance Protects Community Development Tax Incentive Investments: On Thursday, the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework released guidance on the Global Minimum Tax that protects investors’ appetite for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), NMTC, historic tax credit (HTC), and renewable energy tax credit (RETC).
NMTC of 2023 – A New Market Tax Credit permanence bill was introduced last week for the sixth consecutive session of congress. The bipartisan legislation does 3 things:
Makes the NTMC, which is set to expire in 2025, a permanent part of the U.S. Tax Code
Applies an inflation adjuster to every NMTC allocation round after 2023, and
Exempts NMTCs made after Dec. 31, 2022 from the Alternative Minimum Tax
HUD awarded $315 million to CoCs to address unsheltered and rural homelessness. NC was awarded $22.3M. The NC Balance of State will receive almost $21.9M to address unsheltered and rural homelessness. The Northwest NC CoC, which covers Watauga, Wilkes, Ashe, Avery, Alleghany, Mitchell, and Yancey counties, will receive $450K to address rural homelessness.

State and Local Updates

SB 53 (Hotel Safety Issues) is on the agenda for the NC Senate Judiciary Committee meeting today at 11AM. SB 53 is the same as HB 352 that Governor Cooper vetoed in 2021. The bill drastically changes the way people living in motels are treated, especially when it comes to evictions. It denies folks who have been living in a motel for less than 90 days of landlord/tenant protections that have been in place for over 30 years. The Coalition is opposed to this legislation as we were in 2021.
The City of Charlotte’s House Charlotte Plus pilot program is now providing up to $80K in assistance to low income homebuyers in certain Charlotte neighborhoods designated as “Neighborhoods of Opportunity.” The pilot program expands on the existing House Charlotte program, which provides interest-free loans of up to $30K to qualifying low-income families purchasing a home. The loans are forgiven after 30 years.
Three developers, including Inlivian’s (the Charlotte Housing Authority) nonprofit development arm, filed rezoning applications last week with plans that include the creation and preservation of over 300 units of affordable housing. A public hearing and vote for the rezoning of the Providence Square Shopping Center area will be held in the coming months.
The Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority recently announced that short-term rentals now outnumber hotel rooms in Asheville and Buncombe County. The City of Asheville’s 2023 legislative agenda outlines their opposition to any policy efforts that may arise in the General Assembly this year to limit local government’s ability to regulate short-term rentals.
Dare County Board of Commissioners highlighted essential and workforce housing as one of their top priorities at a recent State of the County event. Like many counties with high costs of living, Dare County faces an ongoing struggle to provide affordable housing for essential employees like teachers, firefighters, and hospital employees. Our recently released County Profiles indicate that 53% of Dare County renters are cost burdened. The County is working with developers Woda Cooper and Coastal Affordable Housing to achieve their goal of developing 400-500 units of workforce housing.