Affordable Housing

Header Image of people working different occupations

AFFORDABLE FOR WHO?

When you walk in your front door, you look around and you know you're home. You have a roof over your head, a place to store your belongings, and a home where you create memories with loved ones. But not everyone in Charlotte has a home, and many who do can't afford it.

Charlotte is one of the fastest growing cities in America: in fact, the U.N. recently projected it will be the fastest growing area in the U.S. through 2030. The cost of renting or buying a home has skyrocketed, and many can't keep up.

Our city needs an additional 32,000 units of affordable housing to meet the current need, which means more than 55,000 Charlotteans don't currently have an affordable place to live. That's three quarters of the Panthers stadium.

The City of Charlotte has a Housing Charlotte Framework that focuses on expanding the supply of, and preserving existing, quality affordable housing, and supporting family self-sufficiency. That being said, the City can't do this work alone. Government, nonprofits, businesses, and residents must all work together to address this need.

Charlotte's integrated approach to affordable housing. Expand, Preserve, Support.

FACES OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING

“I felt like somebody, I didn’t feel like just someone asking or begging for money. So many people are in this situation with this pandemic, but I felt that I wasn’t alone knowing I could actually get help from RAMP.” – Karen Davis, grandmother

Ms. Davis received rental assistance through the Rental and Mortgage Assistance Program (RAMP CLT), the City’s COVID-19 emergency housing assistance program.

Read Karen’s story.

"Mr. Street is a disabled veteran, he just didn't have the financial resources to make repairs…This seemingly small roof leak over years and years turned into a huge problem. It started to rot out the wall, and then the floor…you could see the sky in the kitchen." - Elizabeth Lamy, Housing Rehabilitation Specialist

The City's Housing Rehabilitation Team partnered with Rebuilding Together, the Charlotte Hornets Foundation, Bank of America and Veteran's Bridge Home to help rebuild veteran Bobby Street's home so he can have a safe, affordable, and comfortable place to live.

View more about Bobby Street's Story.

Mr. Stockes, a Sign and Marking Technician for Charlotte's Solid Waste Services, was going through a divorce, had no place to live and no money in his pocket when when he learned about HouseCharlotte, the City's down payment assistance program.

"This program is the best thing that's ever happened to me…[HouseCharlotte] gave me a new way to start my life over again. It gave me a second chance." - Gregory Stockes, HouseCharlotte participant

Read more about Gregory Stockes story.

LEARN ABOUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Seven key trends are shaping the need for affordable housing in Charlotte.

1.) Housing costs have outpaced household income increases

2.) Most of Charlotte’s existing affordable rental options are large-scale, naturally occurring affordable housing. This means the unit is not subsidized by the government or restricted to certain income levels. Charlotte has approximately 81,000 of these units, but the supply is decreasing.

Panthers stadium with red highlight covering 75% indicating 24,000 affordable housing units needed.

3.) Charlotte doesn’t have enough affordable rental options to meet current and future needs.

4.) Without affordable housing options, many households must make tradeoffs between where they can afford to live and places that have access to good jobs, good schools and other opportunities that may exist.

5.) The tight residential market limits access to homeownership, especially for lower-income households.

6.) Charlotte-Mecklenburg could add 500,000 persons by 2030, with seniors representing much of this growth.

7.) The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the need for high-quality affordable housing.

Debunking the Myths of Affordable Housing

Before and after picture of Cherry Gardens

Most of the research regarding affordable housing development and its impacts on crime and property values actually show more positive than negative impacts. Healthy neighborhoods such as First Ward in Uptown have long included people of varying income levels, including both affordable and market-rate housing. Affordable housing, and particularly mixed-income neighborhoods like these, matter for improving economic mobility for all.

[Charlotte Observer Story: The surest path to economic stability ]

[Charlotte Agenda Article: Charlotte's Newest Affordable Housing Projects Are Gorgeous ]

City of Charlotte Homelessness Support

Our community's finest hours have always been when we come together to help one another. In our community, Mecklenburg County is the lead agency for providing resources and services for our homeless population. However, there are also many organizations and agencies including the City of Charlotte that work tirelessly to help our homeless neighbors.

Overall, since 2018, the City has provided more than $40 million to support efforts to end and prevent homelessness, including more than $35 million since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic the City of Charlotte has allocated more than $60 million for housing and homeless support.

In April 2021, local leaders announced a place to create the 2025 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing and Homelessness Strategy, the first comprehensive effort to address housing instability and homelessness in our community involving the public, private and non-profit sectors.