The Orange County Housing, Human Rights and Community Development Department was recently awarded $170,000 by the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency to assist with its 2014 Single-Family Rehabilitation Program, according to a press release.
The program’s purpose is to help renovate moderately deteriorated homes owned by lower-income residents, assisting with repairs, such as roof and door replacements.
Renee Holmes, the department’s housing programs coordinator, said the program improves homes and makes them more energy-efficient.
“Well, with this program, the goal is to take houses that are about 30 years old, maybe some older, and extend the life of the house,” Holmes said. “We will also put energy-efficient Energy Star appliances in the house to make them more energy-efficient.”
Residents qualify for the program if their household income is below 80 percent of the area median income and the household includes a resident who is disabled or over the age of 62.
For Orange County residents to be eligible, they must have an annual income of $36,800 or less for a single person or $42,050 for a two-person household. The application process began Tuesday and ends Oct. 31.
Robert Dowling, executive director of the Community Home Trust, said the growing number of rental properties in the Chapel Hill area has played a major role in the increasing need for affordable housing.
“It’s gotten worse over the years because there’s so much pressure on rental housing, particularly in places close to downtown,” he said. “And rents go higher and higher and higher, and regular working people can’t afford those escalating rents.”
