Housing
Other cities take note as New York City tells Airbnb: Fuhgeddaboudit
NEW YORK — As New York City’s busiest tourist season approaches — with travelers visiting holiday attractions across the city and the famed New Year’s Eve ball drop — the options of where to stay are shrinking. For years, it has been illegal for homes in New York City to be rented out for fewer […]
States grapple with racist language in real estate deeds
Lisa Boccetti is horrified by the restrictive covenant that is in the deed to her 1950s ranch house in Raleigh, North Carolina: It states that the land cannot be sold or occupied by Black people. The property “shall not be sold to negroes or to any person or persons of negro blood, and said premises shall […]
‘Out of control’: Advocates rally in D.C. calling for action on housing crisis
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington state Democrat, joined about 100 tenant advocates at a press event outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to demand action on the housing crisis. Jayapal, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, called on the Federal Housing Finance Agency to bolster tenant protections and rent regulations. The People’s […]
A historic housing construction boom may finally moderate rent hikes
An unprecedented surge in the nationwide construction of new housing — mostly apartments — may finally be making a dent in fast-rising rents that have been making life harder for tenants. More than 1.65 million housing units were under construction last year, the highest annual number since federal record-keeping started in 1969. This year, the […]
Some cities are pushing for rent control. They’re meeting resistance.
With rents soaring since the COVID-19 pandemic tightened the housing supply, more local governments are considering rent control to keep increases in check and, ideally, protect struggling tenants whose incomes haven’t kept pace. At the same time, some states are enacting measures to prohibit cities from adopting rent control, a policy that has long divided economists and […]
In Biden’s war on junk fees, North Carolina’s senior senator pushes back
In a hot housing market, prospective renters can’t afford to be indecisive. Decide to sleep on it overnight and the property may be snapped up by someone else. But today’s rental market can also place a burden on even the most expeditious renters with application fees, credit checks, move in fees and other “convenience” surcharges. […]
Mortgage rates are stabilizing but that may not be enough to help house hunters
Home prices are cooling off and mortgage rates fell last week, but the fallout from recent bank closures could continue to make it hard for some Americans to buy homes, economists say. Mortgage rates fell to 6.32% for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, Freddie Mac data released on Thursday shows. Last fall, the 30-year fixed […]
Gov. Cooper will allow two bills similar to those he previously vetoed to become law without his signature
Gov. Roy Cooper said Friday he is allowing bills on hotel tenants and rioting penalties to become law without his signature. Senate bill 53 says that people who live in inns, motels, campgrounds, or other lodgings do not have legal rights afforded tenants if they live in those places for fewer than 90 consecutive days. […]
Democratic governors pitch federal funds for housing, clean energy
Roy Cooper joins peers from Maryland, Colorado, Minnesota and New York at D.C. event WASHINGTON — Using the recent influx of federal funds to expand state and local clean energy infrastructure, affordable housing and workforce development will pay long-term dividends, a group of Democratic governors and mayors said Wednesday at an event hosted by a […]
ReBuild NC placed hurricane survivors at Fayetteville motel, which has now evicted some of them
Editor’s note: As of noon Friday, the woman and her son were relocated by ReBuildNC to a hotel in Lumberton. Policy Watch will continue to update this story as additional details become available. 2:33 p.m. The homeowner called Policy Watch and said the motel in Lumberton had no rooms until tomorrow at 3 p.m. Meanwhile, […]
Billions for natural disasters, home energy included in stopgap spending bill in Congress
WASHINGTON — Congress is on track to approve billions in funding this week to help offset rising home heating and cooling costs as well as boost aid for communities recovering from natural disasters. The package, unveiled overnight, would provide $2.5 billion in assistance for the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire that scorched much of New Mexico […]
From election conspiracy theories, to shortchanged teachers, to the truth about NC’s bungled disaster relief program: The week’s top stories on Policy Watch
1. Payroll system switch shortchanges hundreds of teachers, leads to finger-pointing by state and local officials State lawmakers aware of the erroneous deductions in March Bobbie Cavnar, a Gaston County Schools high school English teacher, was shocked last month when his paystub showed $1,600 worth of unexplained deductions. Fortunately for the 2016-17 North Carolina Teacher […]