By: Staff Report//May 24, 2023//
By: Staff Report//May 24, 2023//
More than 830 low-income homeowners in North Carolina will receive emergency home repairs thanks to $8.8 million from the NC Housing Finance Agency, awarded through its Urgent Repair Program (URP) to 54 local governments and organizations serving 83 counties. These homeowners will join more than 17,800 households across all 100 North Carolina counties that have been assisted by URP since its inception.
URP operates statewide through local governments, regional organizations, community action agencies and other nonprofit sponsors. Funding is provided to these groups to allocate loans up to $12,000 per household to very low-income homeowners for emergency repairs to correct safety hazards, or to make accessibility modifications to homes for elderly citizens, veterans or people with disabilities.
In 2022, URP helped 683 homeowners with an average income of $16,192. More than three quarters of those beneficiaries were elderly citizens and more than half were people with disabilities. Total program costs averaged just $8,257 per home.
“Using North Carolina Housing Trust Fund dollars, the Urgent Repair Program is an essential resource for our state’s most vulnerable people,” said Scott Farmer, executive director of the NC Housing Finance Agency. “These state investments in rehabilitation and repair are crucial in helping North Carolinians remain in their homes and stay out of costly institutional care, ultimately saving public health care dollars.”
The entities receiving funding in the 2023 URP funding cycle are:
Homeowners can learn more and search for a local partner offering assistance by visiting https://www.nchfa.com/current-homeowners/repairing-your-home/urgent-repair-program.