Federal Updates
Our statement about OBBA
On Thursday, July 3, Congress passed a reconciliation bill that included a number of provisions that impact affordable housing and community development, including a permanent 12.5% increase to the low income housing tax credit (LIHTC). You can read more about these provisions in our detailed breakdown of the bill. The inclusion of these provisions is a direct result of a decade of the Housing Coalition’s work building bipartisan support for the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act. While these provisions are important and we would normally celebrate their passage, sadly they were included in a much larger bill that will ultimately do harm to more North Carolinians than these provisions will help. As Senator Thom Tillis (R) noted in his statement, this will “force the state to make painful decisions like eliminating Medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands.” Congresswoman Deborah Ross (D) also noted that the “legislation guts the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by 20%, the largest cut in our nation’s history.”
The mission of the North Carolina Housing Coalition is to lead a movement to ensure that every North Carolinian has a home in which to live with dignity and opportunity. What the Coalition knows best is housing policy, but we also know that stable housing, financial security, and opportunity for families at the lowest end of the income spectrum is about much more than housing costs. Marginally increasing the number of units that the low income housing tax credit can produce a year while potentially stripping health care from more than 670,000 North Carolinians and cutting food assistance hurts our state. Ultimately, when combined with the North Carolina General Assembly’s failure to pass a budget that includes gap financing through the Workforce Housing Loan Program, this federal increase in the LIHTC may not even result in more units.
Advocacy opportunity
The National Low Income Housing Coalition, along with NHLP, NAEH, and CBPP and industry partners CLPHA, NAHRO, PHADA, MTW Collaborative, and COSCDA, is circulating an organizational sign-on letter calling on Congress to fully fund critical affordable housing programs in the FY26 budget, including Housing Choice Vouchers, Project Based Rental Assistance, and Emergency Housing Vouchers.
Read the letter here and sign your organization’s name by clicking here. The deadline for signatories is July 9.
State Updates
Legislative Updates
1752 bills (excluding resolutions) introduced this session
- We tracked 158 bills related to our policy priorities in some way.
- We continue to track 47 bills related to our policy priorities that survived crossover.
- 94 bills explicitly related to housing were introduced this session.
Prominent themes of bills introduced this session:
Criminalization of Homelessness
Disaster Recovery
Land Use/Zoning (160-D) (esp.Down-Zoning)
HOA Reform
Property Tax Programs
Deed Fraud
Updated Bill Tracker here.
Last week we highlighted HB369 – The Parking Modernization and Reform bill, but we are also continuing to monitor several other bills that are promising in a positive way, bills like HB432 – Property Tax Relief Study bill, HB94 – Disabled Veterans Homestead Exclusion Prequalification bill, SB378 HOA Revisions. Additionally, there are promising elements in bills like SB205 Swimming Pools / Housing Regulatory Reform that contain land use reform elements that could benefit supply by promoting a variety of housing types, and mitigating risk for nonprofit and affordable housing developers. Keep an eye out for more highlights in the coming weeks, where we’ll explain not only what these bills are proposing but what they would and would not do for housing and community development in our state.
State Budget
Resource from SOG – What Happens if NC state budget is not enacted by July 1
The way the law works (specifically G.S. 143c-5-4(b)), if the General Assembly has not enacted a budget by the start of the fiscal year in odd-number years, the law allows for a continuation budget automatically take effect. Allocations made to State departments, agencies, and institutions are made at the level of recurring funds in the prior year’s certified budget.
- Key thing to recognize – this applies to RECURRING
- The Workforce Housing Loan Program (WHLP) is not a recurring allocation (this is one of the reasons we push for it to be a recurring allocation).
- It’s important that we mention WHLP is NOT being singled out, however, we need to continue engaging with leadership in both chambers and on the conference committees to highlight the importance of this critical housing finance tool, not only due to its effectiveness as a leveraging tool but because of its critical role in the disaster recovery long term.
Additional State Legislative Headlines
- North Carolina bill to eliminate parking minimums passes House unanimously | Axios
- Homeless camping ban appears to die in NC General Assembly, for now | Carolina Public Press
- NCSU analysts: Duke Energy bill lifting carbon reduction goal will cost households billions | NC Newsline
Disaster Recovery
Reminder: The Renew NC Single-Family Housing Program began accepting applications last week. Low-to-moderate income Helene survivors living in owner-occupied homes damaged by the storm can apply for assistance with housing rehabilitation or replacement. Priority is given to households with seniors (62+), children, and/or people with disabilities. The program is funded by HUD’s Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program and is administered by the North Carolina Department of Commerce. We encourage folks to apply as soon as possible, as funds are limited.
Widespread flooding from Tropical Depression Chantal generated severe flooding to several communities across Central NC such as Chatham, Orange, Person, Durham, Lee, Moore, Alamance, and several others. Coordination has begun already with NC VOAD, and we are staying tuned for more information that we can share with you all through this process as members of the NCIDR network.
Widespread Flooding due to Chantal
Sign up to stay informed by NC VOAD
Local Headlines
- New affordable housing development opens in Gastonia | WBTV
- Affordable homes coming to west Charlotte community | Mecklenburg Times
- Residents of Chapel Hill’s Elliott Woods Apartments Share Concerns of Displacement, Conditions as A Sale Looms | Chapelboro.com
- Raleigh City Council Accepts $1.5M in Lieu of Affordable Housing Units for Union Station High-Rise | INDY Week
- Funding anxiety has taken hold of advocates for people experiencing homelessness | NC Newsline
Events, Reports & Resources
Upcoming Webinars
- Opportunity Starts at Home (OSAH) – National Low Income Housing Coalition – Webinar with SchoolHouse Connection “ Solving School-Age Homelessness Through School-Housing Partnerships”, July 8 at 2pm ET. Register here.
- Just Economy Conversations: (Re)thinking Ownership | National Community Reinvestment Coalition, July 8 from 2-3:30 p.m. Register here.
- Curds of Wisdom – Saving the Community Reinvestment Act | National Community Reinvestment Coalition, July 9, 1-2 p.m. Register here.
- Rent Regulation in Practice: Economic Insights and Regional Perspectives | Bipartisan Policy Center, July 10 at 2 p.m. Register here.
Resources
- Through the Roof: What Communities Can Do About the High Cost of Rental Housing in America | Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
- Know Your Rights: Sharing Information about Immigration Status in HUD Housing Programs | National Housing Law Project
- Locked Out: Why Homeownership Is Out of Reach for Many Young Hispanic Families | Joint Center for Housing Studies
