Wilmington Housing Authority Recovery

In May of 2022, New Hanover County was made aware of the existence of serious financial issues at the Wilmington Housing Authority (WHA), a local housing authority providing safe and affordable housing throughout the county. The WHA’s financial issues arose from the discovery of severe mold damage across WHA’s properties, forcing more than 150 families to be displaced from their apartments to local hotels and other temporary housing locations until their units could be remediated. As a result, the WHA went from receiving monthly rent payments from its residents to incurring significant hotel costs and per-diem payments that resulted in cash outlays of over $1.2 million per month on top of the estimated $6.3 million to repair the units, sending the organization into a financial crisis. By May of 2022, the WHA approached insolvency and ran the risk of no longer being able to pay for the local hotels and apartments, leading to the prospect of the effected residents being evicted and having no place to live. Upon learning of this situation, New Hanover County: 1) Identified the Treasury’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), which residents could apply for to be used as a source of funds for the hotel and temporary housing costs 2) Sent a team of employees to the hotels and temporary housing locations to encourage the residents to apply for ERAP 3) Administered the ERAP funds 4) Originated a loan to the WHA to be used for remediation costs 5) Offered a letter of support for the WHA to obtain a grant to be used for remediation costs As a result of New Hanover County’s actions, the WHA has gained its financial footing and nearly 75% of the displaced families have returned home to safe and secure housing.