Issue Position: Our Housing - The Andrea Harris Plan

Issue Position

Across our District, people that have lived in their neighborhoods for decades are struggling to keep their homes. Natalie Murdock's affordable housing plans for the NC senate will work to remove legislative barriers that prevent local communities from utilizing the creative and innovative tools neighboring states are using to fight gentrification and keep people in their homes. We can work to expand public-private partnerships, incentivize homeowners to stay in their homes, and provide tax credits to communities that need help with home repairs to maintain the value of their homes. Renters need additional rights and support; let's continue to fund eviction diversion programs. State agencies that support our homeless populations are working to provide services in the midst of devastating state funding cuts, those services need to be fully restored.

In a recent survey of Durham County residents, affordable housing was the most commonly cited priority area for community members. Since 2010, the cost of buying a home in Durham County has risen by 40%. Further, a modest two bedroom apartment in Durham County costs an average of $990 per month. For that to be considered affordable, a resident would need to make at least $39,600 per year--much more than the average salary for jobs in food preparation and service, child care, sales, and construction. According to the Durham County's NC Housing profile, 31% of Durham County households are cost-burdened. 49% of renters have trouble affording rent, and 16% of homeowners have trouble affording their homes. Of cost-burdened renters in Durham County, 32.7% faced an eviction filing in the last year, compared to 0.1% of cost-burdened homeowners who faced foreclosure.

According to a community health assessment, rising housing costs appear to negatively impact renters more than homeowners. 23% of homeowners spent a third or more of their income on housing, versus 48% of renters, in 2017. 67% of white households in Durham own and occupy their homes compared to 41% of black households and 33% of Latin households. Despite being banned in 1968, the practice of "redlining"--calculating risk based on a neighborhood's racial demographics--has likely contributed to at least 30% of the recent disparity in homeownership between residents of color and white residents.

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