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Housing Call: May 17, 2022

Federal updates

  • The Biden Administration released a Housing Supply Action Plan this week, with the goal of closing the supply gap in 5 years. It represents the most comprehensive government effort to address housing supply in history. The plan includes both administrative actions and legislative actions that Biden is calling on Congress to enact.

The Administration’s plan lays a framework for creating and preserving hundreds of thousands of affordable units, while also prioritizing rental assistance and down-payment assistance.

Highlights of the Administrative actions laid out in the plan include:

  • Giving higher scores in certain federal grant processes to jurisdictions that have reformed restrictive zoning and land-use policies
  • Deploying new financing mechanisms for manufactured housing, accessory dwelling units, and small-scale housing developments
  • Finalizing the LIHTC “income averaging” proposed rule, as well as reauthorizing and strengthening guidance for the HOME program.
  • Directing ownership units to owner-occupants instead of large investors
  • Partnering with the private sector to address supply chain challenges

In addition, the President continues to call on Congress to pass the housing investments that were included in Build Back Better and his FY23 budget proposal, as well as the expansion of LIHTC and inclusion of the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act.

  • The LIFELINE Act was introduced in the Senate (4181) last week by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Susan Collins (R-ME). This is the companion bill to legislation that was introduced in the House by NC Reps. Alma Adams and David Rouzer (H.R. 7078) to address barriers limiting the use of State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) for LIHTC. The Senate version of the LIFELINE Act has 10 co-sponsors and needs more. The House version has several new sponsors (both Democrat and Republican) as of last week.

 

State updates

  • Governor Cooper released his proposed budget last week, which includes his office’s request for affordable housing funding levels. In it, he proposes funding the NC Housing Trust Fund at $27.7M and allocating $40M to the Workforce Housing Loan Program.

Notably, the budget request also calls for $50M in down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers, including enhanced assistance for educators, law enforcement, firefighters and EMS personnel.

Other proposed allocations include:

  • $20M for Low-and-Moderate Income Area Water Infrastructure
  • $25M LIHEAP State Supplement
  • $10M LIHWAP State Supplement
  • $12.3M Transition to Community Living
  • $4.2M Key Rental Assistance

 

  • Today (May 17) is the primary election for North Carolina. If you didn’t vote early, you can vote today at your assigned polling place. Polling places will be open from 6:30 am to 7:30 pm: Voter Guide: Who’s On The Ballot, How, Where, When To Vote In Nc 2022 Primary Election | WRAL
  • Fayetteville City Council voted to add a bond package to the ballot for the November election. If approved by voters, the package will fund public safety, infrastructure and affordable housing. The package has a maximum total amount of $97 million, with $60 million for public safety, $25 million for infrastructure and $12 million for affordable housing. The Council could choose to propose less in any or all of the categories: Fayetteville to seek voter approval of bond package on November ballot | Carolina Public Press
  • Asheville’s Point In Time Count data shows a 21% increase in homelessness since 2021. The City is contracting with the National Alliance to End Homelessness to address the issue: Data shows 21% increase in homelessness in Asheville as city contracts consultant | ABC 13
  • A Policy Watch investigative article last week discusses some of the disaster recovery challenges that homeowners are still facing from Hurricanes Matthew and Florence. Legislative decisions made in 2013 and 2014 gutted statewide infrastructure that was set up to respond to disasters, knew how to get the money out, and was connected to folks on the ground who knew how to do the work with these particular funding streams. These decisions have had profound ripple effects on our ability to employ money in a timely way and meet the incredible needs of folks particularly in Eastern NC who were impacted by flooding from Matthew and Florence. Numerous agencies are now in conversation about our statewide infrastructure needs around housing. The current state of disaster recovery for folks in Eastern NC is completely unacceptable, it is a predictable result of some of the decisions that were made, and it is why public policy is important. | Policy Watch

 

Reports, events, resources

Recommended read

Housing Call: May 3, 2022

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