Housing advocates meet with NC lawmakers on affordability, reappraisal moratorium bill
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Housing affordability and access dominated discussions at the North Carolina General Assembly on Wednesday as advocates urged lawmakers to take action on what they describe as a long-standing housing crisis, while a separate bill aimed at property tax relief continued moving through the legislature.
Roughly 200 housing advocates met with legislators and held an event at the state Capitol, calling for major investments in housing and changes to state policy. Organizers said the rising cost of housing is driving their push.
"Voters are concerned about the rising costs of housing," advocates said during the event.
Stephanie Watkins-Cruz, director of housing policy for the NC Housing Coalition, said the scope of the problem is significant.
"In North Carolina, you have almost 1.2 million households that are cost-burdened," Watkins-Cruz said. "That means they're spending more than 30% of their income on housing."
Watkins-Cruz said the situation has been years in the making.
"That is kind of disheartening to see, but also not surprising. This has been a crisis for a while," she said.
Advocates tell ABC11 they have received bipartisan support for housing initiatives, though questions remain about how best to address affordability and availability across the state.
Paul Reeves, CEO of Habitat for Humanity of North Carolina, said the lack of affordable housing options is especially hard on lower-income residents.
"A supply of housing that is affordable to folks who make 80% area median income or below is almost nonexistent," Reeves said.
He added that stable housing has lasting impacts.
"Having that housing stability is a springboard to, you know, generational wealth, building better health outcomes for the parents and the children, better performance in school," Reeves said.
Alongside housing discussions, lawmakers are also considering SB 889, which would place a one-year pause on scheduled property tax reappraisals this year. The bill is backed by Senate President Phil Berger and is intended to provide relief to homeowners facing increasing property taxes.
"I think this is a way that we're able to address and give us time to look at the tax structure of property tax," said Sen. Steve Jarvis, a Republican representing Davidson and Davie counties.
If passed, SB 889 would apply to only 12 of North Carolina's 100 counties. Housing advocates said lawmakers should instead focus on reforming and modernizing existing property tax relief programs.
"We need more transparency in how reevaluations are done. We need to know how budgets are going to be affected," said Hudson Vaughan of the NC Housing Coalition Community Justice Collab. "It's already a very complex time for counties that are trying to fill budget shortfalls, and I think this will make it more confusing."
Advocates also raised questions about what relief would be available to homeowners in the other 88 counties not covered by the proposal.
Lawmakers could bring SB 889 to the Senate floor for a vote as early as next week, while housing advocates say they will continue pressing for broader action on affordability and access across the state.
