RALEIGH, N.C. – Legal Aid of North Carolina announces a Conciliation and Voluntary Compliance Agreement, resolving a housing discrimination complaint filed against the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR). The complaint was filed on behalf of an individual whose application to the ReBuild NC Homeowner Recovery Program was rejected due to proof of ownership requirements applied to owners of heirs’ properties. The ReBuild NC Homeowner Recovery Program administers Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR) funds to assist survivors of Hurricanes Matthew and Florence in rebuilding their homes.
The complaint, filed in February 2023 with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), alleged that NCORR’s proof of ownership requirements, as applied to owners of heirs’ properties, disproportionately impacted and denied equal housing opportunities to Black/African American homeowners seeking disaster recovery assistance funds, in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act. “Heirs’ property” is a term used to describe family-owned property that is passed between generations of family members without a valid will or formal estate. While heirs’ property can present challenges, each heir shares legal ownership of the entire property with the other heirs and can maintain it through repairs, improvements, and payment of property taxes. Decades of research shows that heirs’ property issues most often impact Black families, and that heirs’ properties, particularly in the South, are disproportionately owned by Black/African American landowners.
As a result of the Conciliation and Voluntary Compliance Agreement, Respondent NCORR has agreed to:
- Adopt a new proof of ownership policy, now in Version 9.0 of the CDBG-DR Homeowner Recovery Program Manual and corresponding forms, that complies with the requirements of the Fair Housing Act. Under the revised policy, owners of heirs’ property will now only need to agree that they have or will notify, in whatever way they see fit, any party that may have an ownership interest in the property about their participation in the ReBuild program, if such parties are known to the applicant;
- Provide written notice of the new policy to the approximately 74 applicants previously rejected from, or otherwise deemed ineligible for, the ReBuild Homeowner Recovery Program due to previous proof of ownership requirements as applied to owners of heirs’ property;
- Allow these approximately 74 applicants previously rejected from the program due to the prior proof of ownership requirements applied to owners of heirs’ property to submit appeals for reentry into the Program; and
- Train NCORR staff on the requirements of the new policy.
With these changes, NCORR affirms its commitment to compliance with federal fair housing laws, which prohibit discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability.
“Legal Aid of North Carolina is proud to announce this resolution, which reduces unnecessary barriers for owners in heirs’ properties to access crucial disaster relief funding, while also preserving the existing homeownership structure and keeping these properties in the family. We hope that these revised policies can serve as a model for other disaster relief programs in North Carolina and CDBG-DR funded programs across the country,” said A.D. Skaff, Supervising Attorney with Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Fair Housing Project.
“We commend NCORR for prioritizing fair housing, implementing these new policies, and working with us to resolve this matter, so all homeowners in North Carolina recovering from devastating natural disasters have equal housing opportunities, said Lauren Brasil, Co-Director and Managing Attorney of Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Fair Housing Project.
A copy of the Conciliation Agreement is available here.
Individuals who believe that they may have been victims of housing discrimination can contact Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Fair Housing Project by calling 1-855-797-3247.
Legal Aid of North Carolina’s involvement in this litigation was made possible in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program.
###
Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people to ensure equal access to justice and to remove legal barriers to economic opportunity. Learn more at legalaidnc.org.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Media Contact
Helen Hobson, Chief Communications Officer, 704-430-7616, HelenH2@legalaidnc.org
