Skip to content

Housing Call: May 6, 2025

Organizational Updates & Reminders 

NCHC Joins Nationwide Coalition in lawsuit Filed Monday May 5, 2025

Yesterday, May 5, 2025, a nationwide coalition filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration challenging its attempt to dismantle AmeriCorps, the nation’s flagship civil service program. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, seeks to block the administration’s attempt to dismantle the program without congressional authorization. It is brought by community organizations from across the country, along with individual youth plaintiffs who participate in AmeriCorps and the AmeriCorps Employees Union, AFSCME Local 2027.

The lawsuit alleges the administration does not have unilateral power to cut or end the AmeriCorps grants and service programs, and that doing so would unlawfully deprive communities of critical services and opportunities provided through AmeriCorps, including education access, housing support, and youth mentorship. 

We are one of the organizations from across the country that has joined this suit. To read the full complaint, click here. To read the press release, click here.

NCHFA 2025 Housing NC Awards – Accepting Nominations

Don’t miss the opportunity to showcase your work in affordable housing or to nominate another property for its excellence in affordable housing. The 36th annual Housing North Carolina Awards will celebrate the best affordable housing in the state—housing that improves the lives of residents and their communities.

Nominate any property type (rental, home ownership, supportive housing) for consideration for the 2025 Housing North Carolina Awards.  Recognition will be given in the following categories: Innovation in Housing, Excellence in Sustainability, Creative Partnerships and Community Impact. Any property type can be entered for consideration in any of the categories.

Winners will be awarded plaques, and are invited to participate in a special panel at the NC Affordable Housing Conference in Raleigh, NC on September 30. In addition, the winning developments will be announced to the local news media.

Submissions can be made using the online portal. For full guidelines on all of the categories, please see the 2025 Housing North Carolina Awards guidelines.  Nominations close May 9 at 5:00 pm.

 

Federal Updates

Trump’s Proposed FY26 Budget 

On Friday, the Trump Administration released its FY2026 spending plan, also known as a “skinny budget.” Overall, the budget proposal seeks to cut non-defense spending by over $163 Billion dollars, and the proposed cuts to programs and resources impacting housing, homelessness, and community development are deep. The spending plan outlines several deep cuts or total elimination of agencies and programs such as:

  • Elimination of the Corporation for National and Community Service (operating as AmeriCorps)
  • Elimination of the Neighborhood Reinvestment Coalition
  • Elimination of the US Interagency Council on Homelessness
  • Resources enacted by Congress under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act – cut by $15.2 Billion
  • FEMA preparedness grants and state level programs – cut by $646 million
  • The elimination of LIHEAP – the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
  • Community Services Block Grants – cut by $770 million
  • Rental Assistance – cut by $26 billion
  • Fair Housing enforcement – cut by $60 million
  • Resources to build affordable housing – cut by $1.2 billion
  • Resources to revitalize communities – cut by $3.3 billion
  • The elimination of Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) funding that flows to community action agencies across the country
  • Elimination of the Shelter and Services Program
  • Reduction in grants for State and Local Programs related to public safety such as programs tied to the Violence Against Women Act
  • Elimination of the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG)
  • Elimination of the HOME Investment Partnerships program
  • Elimination of the Native American Programs and Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant
  • Consolidation of the Homeless Assistance Program through the Continuum of Care
  • Shifts a lot of responsibilities around rental assistance, emergency shelter, and community services to the state level.
  • Elimination of the Pathways to Removing Obstacles (PRO) Housing, and shifting that to the states.
  • Elimination of several Rural Development Programs such as grants that support rural business programs, single family housing direct loans, self-help housing loans, telecommunications loans, and rural housing vouchers.
  • Elimination of Community Development Finance Institution (CDFI) Fund Discretionary Awards

Other areas with critical cuts worth mentioning that both quality of life and resources in communities include:

  • Elimination of Job Corps
  • Elimination of the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program
  • Office for Civil Rights (OCR) – 35% budget cut or $49 Million
  • Elimination of Preschool Development Grants
  • The elimination of several programs under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) around climate resilience and education
  • Elimination of the Senior Community Employment Program (SCSEP)
  • Elimination of the Indian Guaranteed Loan program

As we continue to explore what this means for our work and our state we will continue to release information and our analysis. The President will release a more detailed budget request later this month that includes funding proposals for all agencies, which will officially kick off the annual appropriations process. Congress has until October 1 to enact final spending bills or a continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown. 

Early estimates show that the Trump budget would slash rental aid by 40% — and let states fill the gap if they want | NPR

  • NLIHC FEDERAL BUDGET ACTION ALERT: URGE LAWMAKERS TO EXPAND AND PROTECT, NOT CUT HUD PROGRAMS

Advocates can use NLIHC’s toolkits and resources to take action on the FY26 spending bill, and urge federal lawmakers to expand – not cut – investments in HUD programs, including NLIHC’s top priorities:

  • Full funding to renew all existing Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) contracts and funding to renew 60,000 Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHVs).
  • Increased funding for public housing operations and public housing capital needs.
  • $4.922 billion for HUD’s Homeless Assistance Grants (HAG) program.
  • $20 million for the Eviction Protection Grant Program (EPGP).
  • At least $1.3 billion for HUD’s Tribal housing programs and $150 million for competitive funds targeted to tribes with the greatest needs.

Email or call members’ offices to tell them about the importance of affordable housing, homelessness, and community development resources to you, your family, your community, or your work. You can use NLIHC’s Take Action page to look up your member offices or call/send an email directly!

Share stories of those directly impacted by homelessness and housing instability. Storytelling adds meaningful context to your message and can help lawmakers see how their policy decisions impact real people. Learn about how to tell compelling stories with this resource.

National, state, local, tribal, and territorial organizations can also join over 2,300 organizations on CHCDF’s national letter calling on Congress to support the highest level of funding possible for affordable housing, homelessness, and community development resources in FY26.

Senate Reintroduces AHCIA 

  • Last week, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (AHCIA) was reintroduced in the Senate. A companion bill in the House was reintroduced in early April. The AHCIA would expand and reform the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, the largest affordable housing production program in the U.S., and includes provisions to better facilitate the creation of rental homes for renters with the greatest needs.

Call to Action: Organizations & Elected Officials Needed to show broad support for Housing Credit

The ACTION Campaign is calling on all local elected officials to sign ACTION’s local government leaders’ letter by today Tuesday, May 6, 2025 at 5pm Eastern. Mayors, county board chairs, county executives, and similar local elected officials are asked to sign on! This letter emphasizes the broad support that the AHCIA and the Housing Credit have and why it is more important than ever. To sign on to the local elected officials letter, click here.

There is an organizational letter sign on as well, the deadline is tomorrow May 7, 2025 at 5pm Eastern. To sign on as an organization click here.

To better understand the impact that the Housing Credit has on our state, as well as fact sheets by congressional district, click here.

 

State & Local Updates

Crossover Deadline is THIS WEEK: Thursday,  May 8. This means that a bill with financial implications must have passed in at least one chamber to be considered beyond the crossover deadline. Most bills never make it out of committee and will be considered dead for this session if they haven’t moved. However, there are some exceptions. We have seen times where pieces of bills that did not make crossover make it into other pieces of legislation being considered later in the year. Here are some of the bills we are watching:

HB 765

NC lawmakers want to encourage homebuilding. Cities, counties don’t like how they plan to do it. | WUNC

HB 859: Bill restricting NC cities and counties from adopting guaranteed income programs advances | NC Newsline

HB 781: Bill to ban camping and sleeping on public property advances in NC House | NC Newsline

HB 627: Backyard homes couldn’t be blocked by North Carolina cities if lawmakers get their way | WRAL

Call to Action: HB781 – Camping Ban

HB 781 – Unauthorized Public Camping & Sleeping

This is a bill that sets out to ban public camping, and effectively criminalize homeless encampments. This is one of three pieces of legislation inspired by the Cicero Institute, that aligns with their efforts nationwide to criminalize homelessness through sweeping state legislation that would further perpetuate the issue rather than solve the root cause of the problem. Additionally it removes local autonomy on the matter and places unfunded mandates on the implementation of this type of rule.

We are joining our friends at the NCCEH – the North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness, and asking that you call your representatives as well as those on the House State & Local Government Committee (meeting today at 2:00pm) and urge them to vote no, urge them to instead invest in resources and programs that address the root cause of homelessness rather than establish additional legal barriers and challenges that would make it harder for those experiencing homelessness to find and sustain housing.

For a full list of talking points, click here. 

Helene Recovery

NC Housing Finance Agency Funding Expected to Assist 244 Low-Income North Carolina Households

The NC Housing Finance Agency has approved $26.9 million in funding for the preservation and rehabilitation of rental homes in five communities for North Carolina households earning up to 80% of the area median income, with a priority to preserve units affordable for households earning up to 30% of the area median income.

The Agency awarded this funding through its Rental Preservation Loan Program (RPLP), a new program that preserves existing affordable rental housing across the state by providing financing for the acquisition and rehabilitation needs of affordable rental properties currently in the Agency’s rental investment portfolio.

Five developments have been awarded funding:

  • Bay River Apartments in Bayboro, sponsored by DHIC, will rehabilitate 20 units in five buildings.
  • Forest Park Phase II in Statesville, sponsored by Pressly Residential Group, LLC, will rehabilitate 40 units in two buildings.
  • Meadow Crossing Apartments in Beulaville, sponsored by Pendergraph Companies, LLC, will rehabilitate 32 units in 11 buildings.
  • Morgans Ridge Apartments in Wilson, sponsored by Pendergraph Companies, LLC, will rehabilitate 72 units in nine buildings.
  • MacGregor Village Apartments in Greenville, sponsored by DHIC, will rehabilitate 80 units in nine buildings.

More information about the RPLP program can be found here: https://www.nchfa.com/rental-housing-partners/rental-preservation-partners

Local Headlines

  

Reports, Resources & Events

  • Bringing it Home Conference May 15-16, The McKimmon Center in Raleigh. Registration closed.
  • APA-NC: Charlotte Area Planners Meetup | Thursday, May 15, 2025 at Free Range Brewing (2320 N Davidson St., Charlotte, NC 28205), 6 p.m.
  • Just Economy Conversations: Open Banking 2.0: Leveraging Data to Empower Underserved Populations | National Community Reinvestment Coalition, Tuesday, May 20 2-3:30 p.m. Register here.
  • Bringing it Home
  • CAHEC Conference Tuesday, June 3 – Wednesday, June 4 at the Raleigh Convention Center. Registration is free; Registration closes May 19.

 

In the News

Recommended read

Housing Call: April 29, 2025

Many thanks to our sponsors