Bond referenda successes in Buncombe County and Charlotte seen as emblematic of growing national support Voters in Colorado approved a statewide affordable housing initiative in November; while voters in nine communities across the country (including two in North Carolina) OK’d measures to finance the construction of affordable housing, preserve existing rental properties and support renters. But as housing costs soar, analysts and advocates say more needs to be done and argue that federal action is needed.
...affordable rental housing
WASHINGTON — A U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs panel on Tuesday grilled officials running private housing for service members about reports of deplorable living conditions from military families. The hearing, led by Chairman Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat, and top GOP member Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, followed a joint release of a report by the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
...State and national housing experts say the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout underscore the need for a stronger housing safety net. The National Low Income Housing Coalition recently released its annual report examining the significant gap between wages and the cost of rental housing.
...Last December, as North Carolina was hurtling toward an eviction tsunami, a diverse group of stakeholders met to brainstorm policy interventions. Thankfully, a crisis was temporally averted when Congress passed a second Covid-19 relief bill in late December that provided the states with $25 billion in rental assistance and extended the nationwide eviction moratorium.
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