Master Leasing: More Housing, Faster
Patrick Watkins, IFC Community House leader and member of Justice United's Affordable Housing Team
It is clear that we need more housing, faster, especially for residents with extremely low incomes: those earning less than $22,000 / year.
There are currently zero units on the private market in Orange County affordable to residents with extremely low incomes. There are only 468 subsidized units available to residents with extremely low incomes, with only 46 new units planned for development in the next five years. This amount is far lower than what is needed. The IFC alone has over 70 beds for homeless residents at HomeStart and the Community House.
That’s why Justice United’s affordable housing team has worked closely with affordable housing service providers and the Chamber of Commerce to develop a new strategy called Master Leasing to get residents into safe, decent, affordable housing more quickly.
Think of Master Leasing as subletting with a social mission. Rather than buy or build units, we would lease them. A non-profit organization would master lease rental units throughout the community at existing market rates and then sublease the units at affordable rates to qualified, pre-screened tenants.
Master leasing allows us to take advantage of the thousands of existing units on the private market as a mid-term strategy to house extremely low income residents while new, permanently affordable units are constructed over the next five years.
In order to make this a reality, we will need to do three things well: partner with private sector property owners who are willing to participate in the program; find a non-profit partner to administer the program; and of course, find funding.
Over the last year our team has made progress on all fronts. We have partnered with Clay Grubb, CEO of Grubb Properties, who has committed up to 10 units to the program. The Community Home Trust, a widely respected non-profit housing provider in Chapel Hill, has agreed to administer the program. Working with Justice United, the CHT has applied to the Town of Chapel Hill's Affordable Housing Development Reserve Fund for two years worth of funding for the first five master leased units.
Affordable Housing Bond Resources
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Three Ways You Can Make Real Change this Fall
Aren't national politics depressing? Partisan, cynical, divisive. It doesn't have to be this way.
Justice United's politics are rooted in, well, the root of politics. "Politics" comes from the Greek word polis, which translates roughly to "the life of the city." Justice United acts for the whole.
We believe in the affirmative individual (most people will do the right thing, given the opportunity) and that people are happiest when their lives are enmeshed in caring face-to-face relationships, building their communities together.
This fall help Justice United reclaim politics and make real change in Orange County. Support these three actions to make our county a better place to live, work, and worship.
Justice United Action Report
On Tuesday night at Lattisville Grove Missionary Baptist Church 253 Justice United leaders met publicly with candidates for the Orange County Board of Education and Clay Grubb, CEO of Grubb Properties. Here’s what we won and why it matters.
2018 Issue Campaigns
Background:
547 members of Justice United institutions and the communities that surround them participated in listening sessions over the summer of 2017, surfacing ten broad categories of concerns.
On September 10, 88 JU leaders voted to prioritize three of the ten concerns: affordable housing, immigration, and jobs. Three teams of leaders were formed to develop these concerns into concrete, winnable issues. Additionally, JU has formed a money team to increase individual donations in 2018.
On February 1, over 85 JU leaders gathered and voted to approve initial proposals for action made by each Team.
Action Teams Report
51 Justice United leaders heard reports from the Housing, Immigration, and Jobs Action Teams at the the recent Countywide Leaders Meeting on November 9. See below for brief summaries.
Teams will bring specific proposals for action to the next Justice United leaders meeting on February 1, 7:00 - 9:00 pm, at Hillsborough Presbyterian Church (102 W Tyron St).
