Housing Call: March 5, 2024 – North Carolina Housing Coalition

Organizational Updates

Our next Learning Collaborative will take place on Friday, March 8! We’ll continue our discussion on housing barriers for justice involved populations and those at risk of overdose.

This session’s featured speakers will be:

Arthur Payne, Morse Clinic of Durham, NC Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence

Kay Sanford, Project Lazarus, NC Harm Reduction Coalition

Click here to register

Housing Barriers Analysis – https://nchousing.org/housing-barriers-for-justice-involved-populations-and-individuals-at-risk-of-overdose/

Learning Collaboratives https://nchousing.org/learning-collaboratives-on-housing-barriers-for-justice-involved-populations-and-those-at-risk-of-overdose/

Federal Updates

Continuing Resolution & the Budget

As a refresher, last year’s budget ended at the end of September, but Congress didn’t come to a consensus on a budget in time so they passed a continuing resolution (CR) to avoid a government shutdown. This is now the fourth CR they’ve passed to extend the deadline for a budget.

On Friday – March 2, President Biden signed a short term continuing resolution (CR) that extended funding for half of the spending bills to March 8 and the other half to March 22. Housing funding is in the tranche of bills that were extended through this Friday, March 8.

On Sunday, Congressional appropriators released the details of the first tranche of spending bills. We’re really happy to see that Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher funding is increased by $2.1B over FY-23 levels. This means that all housing contracts can be renewed and the program can expand to include another 3000 households. This is a tremendous improvement from the Senate version of the bill, which the Center of Budget and Policy Priorities estimated would have led to a loss of 80-112K housing vouchers. The bill also calls for Increase or level funding for Homeless Assistance Grants, Public Housing Capital and Operating Funds, Tribal housing programs, eviction prevention, HOPWA, fair housing, & housing counseling.

Unfortunately, the bill does call for cuts to some of the following programs:

To funding for HOME, Choice Neighborhoods, housing for the elderly and people with disabilities
All but three of USDA’s rural housing programs receive funding cuts in the final minibus appropriations bill that was released on March 3. Section 521 Rental Assistance, Section 542 vouchers, and Section 538 rental housing guarantees are the only rural housing programs that are not reduced.

This comes one week before the President’s budget for FY25 will be released, kicking off the process of determining funding for next year as well.

The Biden-Harris administration also announced a series of actions last week aimed to boost housing supply and lower housing costs. Some of the main highlights include:

Extending the Federal Financing Bank Risk Sharing program
- Providing an ongoing source of capital so that state and local housing finance agencies can continue to offer FHA insured multifamily loans at reduced interest rates for the development and preservation of affordable rental homes
Supplying funding through the Preservation Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement (PRICE) grant program
Increasing loan limits for Title I Manufactured Housing
Funding for low-income seniors and victims of disasters
Clarifying banned non-rent fees in HUD-assisted properties.
Signaling the imminent release of a proposed rule for to streamline the HOME program

Today is election day! If you haven’t gone to the polls yet, go vote!

State Updates

Yesterday, Attorney General Josh Stein announced that he is taking a series of action to protect NC Homeowners:

The Attorney General is suing an unlicensed general contractor who collected advanced payments for work he didn’t complete and completed work that was not up to code.
The AG’s office is investigating RealPage, a software company that may have violated anti-trust laws by working with property managers to artificially increase demand and thus area rent costs.
The DOJ, the NC Bar Association, and the NC NAACP are hosting a free symposium on April 10 to educate lawyers and community leaders on heirs’ property so they can help people maintain ownership of homes and land that have been passed down over generations. More information and registration can be found here.

State Legislative Updates

HOA Hearing – The House Select Committee on Homeowners’ Associations held their final meeting last week and voted to approve the recommendations set forth in their findings and recommendations report. The next step will be for the bill to be introduced once the short session begins this spring.

Our Director of Housing Policy was at the General Assembly last week and sat in on the Joint Legislative Committee on General Government where we heard a few presentations, one included our friends at the NC Housing Finance Agency – who were giving a brief update on the funds allocated to them in the most recent FY23-25 budget for supportive housing, specifically for veterans experiencing homelessness, and victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking.

Relevant NCGA Meetings

March 12, 2024 at 9:00am: Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services
March 12, 2024 at 1:00pm: Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Medicaid
March 13, 2024 at 10:00am: House Select Committee on Substance Abuse
March 26, 2024 – Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on General Government

The NC House and Senate are convening on Wednesday March 13, 2024 – remember short session does not formally begin until April 24, 2024.

Local Community Updates

Amy Cantrell builds homes for Asheville’s homeless. Now, she’s a USA TODAY Women of the Year honoree Asheville-area nonprofit BeLoved’s co-director Amy Cantrell was recently named as one of USA Today’s Woman of the Year honorees. Under Cantrell’s leadership, BeLoved recently completed a community of 12 tiny homes affordable to people earning 30-40% of the area median income and hopes to replicate this model to increase Asheville’s supply of deeply affordable housing for extremely low-income households.
Housing needs dire and growing in Jackson | The UNC School of Government’s Development Finance Institute recently completed a housing needs assessment for Jackson County in Western NC. Research shows an influx of above-median income families moving into the county and lower-wealth families moving out of the county. The median home price in the county has almost doubled since 2020, leaving many longtime residents priced out. According to DFI’s research, a household now needs to earn about $160K to be able to afford purchasing a home in Jackson County.
New senior affordable housing complex could be coming to Wilmington’s Mosley Street

A proposed rezoning recently recommended for approval by the Wilmington Planning Commission – is expected to go before the Wilmington City Council this evening that, if approved, will add 60 affordable senior townhomes near Mosley Street. All of the townhomes are priced affordably, including 16 units priced at 30% AMI, 30 units priced at 60% AMI, and 14 units priced at 80% AMI.

Publix Presents Check to Habitat for Humanity | Publix Super Market Charities recently presented Habitat for Humanity of Craven County with a $25K donation that will help to build the Habitat affiliate’s latest community in New Bern. Local Publix employees will participate in the home build later next month.
‘Change people’s lives’: Here’s what we know about Cumberland County’s homeless center

The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners recently broke ground on a new homeless shelter in Fayetteville. The Homeless Support Center will serve as a 24/7 shelter segmented for men, women, and families. Through partnership with community nonprofits and the local community college, the county aims to also co-locate resources and job training for people experiencing homelessness.

Events

[webinar & resource release] Advancing Racial & Health Justice through a Right to Counsel for Tenants | PolicyLink, March 6, 2 – 3 p.m.
[webinar] Understanding and Reducing Homeownership Gaps in the South | National Fair Housing Alliance & Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, March 7 from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
- Nikitra Bailey is a panelist

[in-person] Cape Fear Housing Coalition Annual Breakfast | Wilmington, NC, March 11, 8-10 a.m.
- The breakfast is hosted by Cape Fear Realtors and features a policy update from the North Carolina Housing Coalition followed by a keynote address from Dr. Gregg Colburn, author of Homelessness is a Housing Problem. Free and open to the public. RSVP required.

[webinar] FHFA Multifamily Insurance Symposium | Federal Housing Finance Agency, March 13, 10 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.
[webinar] How Local Governments Innovate to Meet Community Housing Needs, HUD, March 21 from 2 – 4 p.m.
[in-person] Onslow’s Housing Shortage: Impacts & Solutions | Jackson Onslow Community Development, March 21 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. at Jacksonville Country Club. Registration required.
[webinar] Preserving Owner-Occupied Affordable Homes | National Council of State Housing Agencies, 12:30 – 5:15 p.m. on April 17