Rental Investments
Rental Investments Provide Solid Foundations for Seniors & Working Families
Rental Production & Management
North Carolina’s strong population growth and increasing rent costs means that affordable rental housing options are becoming increasingly scarce. The average cost of rent in the state rose by 20% in 2022 over the previous year, outpacing the average nationwide increase of 16% and making it difficult for citizens to find apartments that they can afford.
Agency investments in rental development are expanding affordable options for working families and seniors increasingly squeezed by skyrocketing rental costs.
In 2022, the Agency financed 4,600 affordable apartment homes for working families and senior citizens to combat this trend and ensure that all North Carolinians have a safe and affordable place to call home.
In response to pandemic-related construction cost increases, the General Assembly also appropriated $190 million to the Workforce Housing Loan Program (WHLP) to the Agency to address funding gaps in previously awarded tax credit properties. A total of $226.3 million was used to help fill gaps that included increases to Agency Rental Production Program loans, Community Development Block Grant—Disaster Recovery loans, and Workforce Housing Loan Pool loans.
In 2022…
133 preliminary applications received for Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC)
28 9% awards for 1,716 units and $27.3 million in credits
20 tax-exempt bond awards with 4% LIHTC
4,600 affordable apartments financed
A Formerly Vacant Lot Becomes a Home for Durham Residents
Willard Street Apartments in Durham, a 2022 Housing North Carolina Award winner, turned a formerly vacant lot into a mixed-use development in the heart of downtown, close to jobs, health care, educational opportunities, public transportation and much more. This development provides 82 apartment homes that offer resident services and onsite activities to working families and senior citizens of Durham.
“This is definitely home for me,” said one resident. “Before I moved here, I was going from job to job, struggling to pay the rent and put food on the table. My grandchildren love it here. I have safety here. I am able to live in an affordable apartment that allows me to get medical care to take care of myself. When I put my key in the door for the first two months, I got goosebumps.”
Rental Assistance
For families with very low incomes, the Agency oversees Performance Based Contract Administration for properties with Section 8 Rental Assistance, a key affordability tool to assist renters that helped 23,790 families in 2022.
In addition, the Agency continued to partner with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) on programs such as the state’s Transitions to Community Living Voucher. This program helps people with behavioral health disabilities either be diverted from or transition out of restrictive settings to live in the community of their choice.
In 2022 alone, the Transitions to Community Living Voucher served 2,700 North Carolinians with disabilities.
The Agency also provides access and support for the state’s Key Rental Assistance, which helps low-income people with disabilities secure housing through the Targeting Program. A partnership between the Agency and NCDHHS, the Targeting Program requires properties developed using LIHTC to set aside between 10% and 20% of their units for eligible participants. In 2022, this partnership assisted 2,500 North Carolinians.