Organizational Updates & Reminders
Registration is NOW CLOSED for Housing Day 2025 – April 9, 2025
- 2025 NC Housing Day | NC Housing Coalition, Habitat NC, & the NC Coalition to End Homelessness, Wednesday, April 9 at the NCGA in downtown Raleigh. Register here.
Registration for Housing Day closed on March 14, 2025. We have over 100 people signed up to participate and representation from 44 out of 100 counties in North Carolina!
Federal Policy & Advocacy Updates
- Congress passes Continuing Resolution; averts partial government shutdown
- On Friday, the U.S. Senate approved a stopgap spending bill to keep the federal government funded through the end of the Fiscal Year in September. Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and a few of his Senate Democratic colleagues ended up voting in favor of the bill in an effort to provide the votes needed to avoid a shutdown, with Schumer saying that while he doesn’t agree with the spending bill, a shutdown would be ultimately more detrimental.
- The CR extends funding at FY24 levels and includes funding increases for a few programs. According to our colleagues at the National Low Income Housing Coalition, “the bill will cut $13 billion in domestic spending from the previous fiscal year, while also proposing funding adjustments for some federal programs, including an additional $6 billion in defense spending and an additional $4.6 billion for some key HUD programs.” A chart outlining funding for specific housing programs is available here: https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/Final_HUD_Budget-Chart_FY25_Final.pdf
- HUD programs that saw funding increases from FY24 levels include:
- Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) (+$3.65B) – This increase not large enough to cover the cost of voucher renewals and will result in the estimated loss of 32,000 vouchers from the the program upon turnover.
- Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) (+$880M)
- Section 811 housing for people with disabilities (+48.7M)
- Section 202 housing for the elderly (+$18.4M)
- HUD Programs that saw funding decreases include:
- Community Development Fund (-$3.29B) The budget takes out funding for congressionally requested/earmarked funds. PRO housing funding and formula grant funding levels remain the same as FY24l.
- Homeless Assistance Grants (-$168M): Rather than calling for additional funding for HUD’s Homeless Assistance Grants (HAG) program, the CR gives the HUD Secretary the authority to “repurpose funds made available” for the Continuum of Care (CoC) Builds program to instead fund CoC renewals.
- Notably, the bill does not include much needed additional spending for disaster recovery.
DOGE/Federal Funding Cuts
- Trump administration throws hundreds of affordable housing projects into limbo after contract cuts | AP News
- Affordable housing threatened as Trump halts $1 billion slated for extending life of aging buildings | AP News
- Special Report: The Real Cost of Cuts to HUD, USDA, and Treasury | National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders
- DOGE-Driven HUD Cuts Will Make It Harder for People to Afford Housing, Exit Homelessness | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
- Federal funding freeze creates chaos for North Carolina nonprofits combating homelessness | NC Newsline
Additional Federal Policy & Advocacy Highlights
- Appeals court lifts blocks on Trump’s orders restricting diversity, equity and inclusion programs | AP News
- Four Fair Housing Groups Sue HUD and DOGE Over Canceling FHIP Contracts | NLIHC
- Senators Warren (D-MA) & Warnock (D-GA) and Representative Cleaver (D-MO) Introduce American Housing and Economic Mobility Act | NLIHC
State & Local Updates
Governor Signs First Disaster Recovery Package of 2025
Wednesday afternoon, the Senate passed The Disaster Recovery Act of 2025 – Part I following a Conference Committee to consolidate the House and Senate versions of the bill, and Governor Josh Stein signed the bill into law later that evening. The final version of the $535 million bill includes some assistance for small businesses and agriculture, but no rental assistance.
The bill directs the transfer of $307,991,704 from the State Emergency Response and Disaster Relief Fund (SERDF) to the Helene Fund. (Legislation passed in December (SL 2024-57) left $225M unallocated in the Helene Fund. The bill then appropriates the funds in the following ways:
- $192.5M – NC Agriculture – Agricultural Disaster Crop Loss Program
- $140M – NC Commerce Division of Community Revitalization – Home Reconstruction & Repair Program
- $100M – NC Emergency Management – Repairing and replacing private roads and bridges
- $55M – NC Commerce – Small Business Infrastructure Grant Program
- $20M – Office of State Budget & Management – Debris cleanup unmet needs
- $10M – NC Emergency Management – Grants to support volunteer organizations doing repair and reconstruction projects in WNC
- $10M – Office of the State Fire Marshal – Grants to support small and volunteer fire departments
- Amends S.L. 2024-53 to allow for up to 2 rental assistance payments (funds haven’t been spent out)
- $4.5M Dept. of Public Instruction – School Extension Learning Recovery Program
- $3M – NC Commerce – Tourism marketing
- $112,708,296 to NCORR to finish up recovery work in eastern NC from Hurricanes Matthew & Florence
Attorney General Jeff Jackson and the RealPage lawsuit
Earlier this year in January, Attorney General Jeff Jackson sued six landlords for allegedly raising rents by illegally colluding with property management software company RealPage. In a recent video released on Monday March 17, 2025, Jackson revisited this case, and called out RealPage, explaining how the software uses AI to help companies allegedly collude, fix rents, and erase competition. In his video, he explains that this issue impacts at least 70,000 apartments in North Carolina if not more, including one-third of all the one or two-bedroom apartments in Raleigh, Charlotte, and Durham-Chapel Hill metro areas. The suit actually began under the now Governor of North Carolina, Josh Stein. The case was updated in early January, broadening to include large real estate companies.
NC General Assembly
The Latest in Disaster Recovery
- As 1,200 left FEMA Helene hotels in North Carolina, homelessness and housing come to the fore | Asheville Citizen-Times
- An update on life in western NC six months after Helene | Blue Ridge Public Radio
CDBG-DR Public Comment Period
- Public comment deadline for the State’s CDBG-DR Action Plan is March 20. Check out this CDBG-DR State Action Plan Primer from our friends at the NC Budget & Tax Center
- Public comment deadline for City of Asheville CDBG-DR Action Plan is April 3
Local News Highlights
- Brevard affordable housing project moves forward despite county avoiding vote | Blue Ridge Public Radio
- Council approves zoning code changes to accelerate projects | Mountain Xpress
- Lexington’s affordable housing crisis: Part 1 public housing | DavidsonLocal.com
- Commissioners at a loss over Burlington-based plan to leverage federal funds for affordable housing | Alamance News
- Nashville town council clears path for affordable housing | rockymounttelegram.com
- Housing Plan Published For Caldwell County | WHKY
- Report details housing supply gap in Moore County | BizFayetteville
Events
- [webinar] Uncharted: Navigating the Federal Landscape | Southern Economic Advancement Project (SEAP), Thursday, March 20, 1 pm. Register here.
- Topline updates will include: Federal contracts and staffing, working with constituent services, funding impacts on nonprofits, and grant writing strategies for the current political climate.
- [webinar] Improving America’s Housing 2025 | Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, March 20, 2 pm
- [event] Housing Affordability in the Cape Fear Breakfast | Cape Fear Housing Coalition, March 28, 8-10 a.m. at the Cape Fear Realtors’ office, 1826 Sir Tyler Drive, Wilmington
- Free, registration required.
Reports & Resources
- NLIHC Releases The Gap 2025: A Shortage of Affordable Homes | National Low Income Housing Coalition
- The report finds that the lowest income renters in the U.S. face a shortage of 7.1 million affordable and available rental homes. This leaves extremely low-income renters saddled with housing cost burdens, with nearly 87% spending more than 30% of their income on housing and 75% facing severe cost burdens, spending more than 50% of their income on rent. As a result, extremely low-income renters account for over two thirds of all severely cost-burdened households, despite only representing a quarter of renters.
- How Much Would It Cost to Provide Housing First to All Households Staying in Homeless Shelters? | National Alliance to End Homelessness
- Understanding the New AFFH Interim Final Rule | PolicyLink
- Rental deserts, segregation, and zoning | Journal of Urban Affairs
- To Ensure Children’s Health, Create Affordable Housing In High-Opportunity Neighborhoods | Heath Affairs
In the News
