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Housing Call: May 7, 2024

NCHC Updates

New Bringing It Home Sessions: Two Weeks Left to Register!
We’re excited to add a Mindfulness Session and a Medicaid Information session to the Bringing It Home agenda! There are only two weeks left to register, so check out the new sessions and register today!

Nominations Open: NC Housing Coalition Awards
Nominations are now open for the 2024 NC Housing Coalition Awards! Each year we recognize housing advocates across the state at our Annual Breakfast during the NC Affordable Housing Conference (September 5-6). If you or someone you know has gone above and beyond to advocate for affordable housing in North Carolina, nominate them today! The deadline to submit is July 26.

Two VISTA Positions Open in Housing Counseling Network
Applications are open for two AmeriCorps VISTA positions in our Housing Counseling Network! Cleveland County CDC and Prosperity Unlimited, Inc. are each looking for a VISTA to grow their communications capacity. You can learn more about each position on our jobs board.

SPECIAL GUEST: A.D Skaff, Supervising Attorney, Legal Aid of NC
Ashley Denise “A.D.” Skaff is a licensed clinical social worker and supervising attorney with Legal Aid of North Carolina, Inc. She worked in mental health and advocacy for 12 years before becoming an attorney in 2019. During her 4 and a half years with Legal Aid, she has worked with the Disaster Relief Project and the Fair Housing Project to provide client-centered, zealous representation for residents of North Carolina. Working on both projects has allowed her to see the many barriers experienced by owners in heirs’ property as they try to maintain ownership of their land.

See the great post by NLIHC about the settlement between Legal Aid of NC and NCORR 

Can you give a brief description of what Heir Property is and why it matters in housing and community development, but particularly for disaster recovery efforts?

“Heirs’ property” is the term used to describe family owned/community owned land – it becomes heirs’ property when the original deed holder passes away without a valid will. Sometimes this happens for one generation, sometimes this happens for multiple generations. The reasons a person may have no will, or an invalid will can be dependent on a multitude of socioeconomic factors – or for other historical reasons such as exclusion of Black and Brown families’ exclusion from land ownership – so generationally owned land has become extremely complex. Although it is a designation in our legal system – communally owned property existed before our country’s system was put in place, but the way our system is set up creates a lot of issues. 

This matters because – in order to access Federal assistance (USDA) or federal disaster recovery dollars – you have to have your name on the deed in order to be seen as a “true owner”  – this really came to head after Hurricane Katrina – many households weren’t able to get recovery assistance because of this fact. Even though they were owned by families  – this caused the homes to fall into more disrepair, and lead to a lot of land and property grabs to happen and displace these impacted families and communities.

This is starting to change, particularly in the disaster recovery space – but we are still seeing the challenges in affordable housing space because people are excluded from traditional financial means of assistance, which leave homeowners more vulnerable to predatory lending, condemnation, and foreclosure. 

Tell us about the recent settlement with NCORR – what was the lead up to the case, and what does this outcome mean? 

Hurricane Katrina happened – and spurred a lot of advocacy both locally and nationally. Then Hurricane Maria happened – which severely impacted Puerto Rico, which has a lot of communally owned land, and heirs’ property. There were a lot of issues with FEMA and how they allow impacted communities to prove ownership. 

September 2021 – FEMA finally changed their process for how someone can prove that they own a home. The bare minimum that someone could submit – is that under penalty of perjury that they are an owner of the property. This was a huge rule change. BUT what we saw was that CDBG-DR requirements did not change. Both CDBG-DR and FEMA are governed through The Stafford Act – so Legal Aid looked at the impact of these policies through the Fair Housing Act and asked – could we also take the same approach with the CDBG-DR fund since FEMA changed their rule and are still able to meet their requirements with the changed rule.

CBDG-DR funds in North Carolina are administered through the Rebuild NC and NCORR office. The program had relaxed some of the ownership documentation requirements, but it was still burdensome. Someone still had to contact all the heirs, and get permission to participate, or attest to not being able to contact the heirs. So, you may encounter a situation where someone you contact didn’t reply, and so you’re not able to get that permission. 

The data shows that in the Southeast, heirs’ property is disproportionately owned by Black homeowners. This allowed us to use the Fair Housing approach, showing that this rule was disproportionately impacting this group / preventing them from having services by this rule.

When you file a complaint with HUD under the Fair Housing Act, at the same time HUD investigates the claim – you’re also attempting to reach an agreement. It took several months but several constructive conversations were had where NCORR was able to share their concerns, and we were able to offer insight and address a lot of them and reach a common ground.

For North Carolina this means that they don’t have to get an affirmative note from heirs – they just have to notify. And allows them to improve their property which they’re already allowed to do (which had to be addressed) and continue living on the land, and keep property values up. 

Our hope is that because these are federal funds – other states are going to be able to change the rule across the country. Hawaii is likely to address this with theirs as well. We hope that this will have broad impacts. 

In our research – we are seeing that a lot of approaches to solving the heirs property addresses how to make it fit into the system – we approached it from the standpoint of how  can we address the system’s approach to heirs’ property – while respecting and maintaining the nature of this type of ownership.

What additional policy changes are needed to improve how we navigate the complicated nature of Heir property situations? What should advocates or interested communities be aware of?

As a Legal Aid of NC staff member – I’m unable to lobby, however I can say the following.

Think about how to change systems to respect this type of ownership – and if people have thoughts or ideas send them to us! We are open to collaborate.

There is the Uniform Partition of Heirs’ Property Act – if you feel so led – you can contact your elected official about it. It addresses the sale of heirs’ property, which is still an important aspect of this issue.

HB 588-S548 – Heirs Property Study – filed on 4/6/2023

What resources would you direct people who want to learn more about Heir Property to? If people are in a situation involving Heir property where should they go? 

We are putting together a Know Your Rights info sheet – for heirs’ property owners to better understand their rights when it comes to their land. We will send this out when it’s ready!

There is also the Heirs Property Practitioner network – legal professionals and advocates working in this space – listserv. All across the country. You can request to join here: https://www.hppn.info/

I’m also happy to answer questions as I am able or to discuss further. The best way to reach me is through email at: AshleyS@legalaidnc.org.

Federal Updates

Upcoming Hearings: 

  • U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs hearing: “Consumer Protection: Examining Fees in Financial Services and Rental Housing,” Thursday, May 9 @ 10 a.m. Watch here. 

State Updates

State Legislative Updates

Here are a few helpful links to help you navigate bill activity during the short session: 

  • Here is a link to bills formally eligible to be considered during the remainder of the 2024 session.

Bills filed recently that we’re keeping an eye on: 

  • A bill to create a statewide Dept of Housing & Community Development  – HB925
  • A bill that integrates a number of recommendations from the House Select Committee on Homeowners’ Associations to improve HOA accountability and transparency.  – HB959
  • A technical corrections bill that makes modifications to the FY23 budget. One correction of interest would repeal a provision that was put in the state budget last fall to keep local governments from using zoning to block the development of affordable housing.  – SB508 (Ratified)

Local Community Updates

See inside: Nonprofit Heal Charlotte adapts Sugar Creek motel for emergency housing
Heal Charlotte recently converted a motel into a  transitional housing development for families experiencing homelessness who have children. The former Baymont Inn motel is set up to serve more than 100 families at any given time. The nonprofit was able to master lease the motel with assistance from a  $2.25M grant from the City of Charlotte. In addition to housing, there is a kids art room, a market supplying fresh foods and toiletries, and a community meeting space. 

Citizen Advisory Committee to discuss state mitigation funding updates at May 17 meeting
The public is invited to attend a May 17 meeting of the state Citizen Advisory Committee for HUD Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funding. The meeting is an opportunity for committee members and the public to learn about programs supported by the funding and CDBG-MIT action plan amendment currently under review by HUD. The action plan provides detailed information about how the N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) intends to use the federal funds. A public comment period was held March 15 through April 15 to obtain feedback on the proposed action plan changes, which are available for review online.  

People interested in attending the Citizen Advisory Committee meeting may attend in person or online using the link below. Registration information and meeting materials are available online at: bit.ly/CACmtgMay24.

What:    CDBG-Mitigation Citizen Advisory Committee Public Meeting
When:   12 p.m. Friday, May 17
Location: Kinston-Lenoir County Public Library, 510 North Queen Street, Kinston, NC 28501
Attend Online: Register to attend virtually

The Citizen Advisory Committee is a 15-member committee established by NCORR and the State Disaster Recovery Task Force to increase transparency in the use of CDBG-MIT funds, obtain public comment and input on proposed mitigation activities, and serve as an ongoing public forum to inform CDBG-MIT projects and programs. Committee members include representatives from areas of North Carolina defined by HUD as “Most Impacted and Distressed” by Hurricanes Matthew and/or Florence, as well as representatives with relevant technical and industry experience.

Reports & Resources

Events

  • NCWAHN and Paraison Invitational Golf Lessons and Picnic Luncheon | May 16th 11am – 1pm at The First Tee Learning Center in Pineville. Join the NCWAHN members for lessons with expert coaches in conjunction with the Paraison Invitational. Register here!
  • City of Hendersonville’s 2024 Affordable Housing Summit |  Strategic Housing Plan Steering Committee, May 16 5:30 – 7:45 p.m. @ Hendersonville High School
    • The evening will feature acclaimed housing policy expert and author, Shane Phillips.. The summit is open to non-profit service providers, members of the business community, government leaders, affordable housing advocates, community members, and anyone committed to expanding and improving housing in Henderson County and across the WNC region. This program is FREE and open to all. 
  • [webinar] Emergency Shelter: Reimagining a Housing Focused Place People Want to Use | National Alliance to End Homelessness, May 16 from 3-4:30 ET. Register for the webinar here. 
  • [webinar] Our Homes, Our Votes: 2024 Webinar Series | National Low Income Housing Coalition, May 20 @ 2:30 p.m. ET 
  • [webinar] Advancing Homelessness Solutions | NLIHC,  the National Alliance to End Homelessness, and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Tuesday, May 21, from 2 to 3 pm ET. Register for the webinar here.
  • Bringing it Home: Ending Homelessness In NC Conference – Raleigh, NC June 4-5. To register, click here.
  • CAHEC Partners Conference – Raleigh, NC – June 4 – 5. To register, click here. Registration Deadline: May 20
  • Women’s Affordable Housing Network National Housing Summit 2024 – Atlanta, GA – June 9-11. To register, click here.

In the News

Recommended read

Housing Call: April 30, 2024

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