The State Housing Opportunities and Prevention of Evictions Program (HOPE) application process closes at 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 17. HOPE provides rent and utility assistance to low-income renters that are experiencing financial hardship due to the economic impacts of COVID-19. The program helps prevent evictions and utility disconnections to promote housing stability during the ongoing pandemic.
Anyone who is late on rent or utilities is encouraged to apply before Friday at 6:00 p.m. on the HOPE website, https://www.rebuild.nc.gov/hope-program, or via the HOPE Call Center, (888) 927-5467.
The Orange County Emergency Housing Assistance (EHA) program will continue to be available for rent and utility help for people living in Orange County - http://orangecountync.gov/2359/Emergency-Housing-Assistance. To be eligible for EHA, residents must have low incomes, have an urgent need for housing assistance related to the pandemic and lack adequate resources to cover the cost of their housing need.
Current income limits for the EHA program are:
- 1-person household: $18,150
- 2-person household: $20,750
- 3-person household: $23,350
- 4-person household: $25,900
- 5-person household: $28,000
- 6-person household: $30,050
- 7-person household: $32,150
- 8-person household: $34,200
The EHA program covers rent, mortgage and utility payments, security deposits, application fees and other emergency housing-related expenses are eligible to be covered.
How to apply for EHA
After Friday December 17, people can continue to apply for the Emergency Housing Assistance (EHA) program in three ways:
- People can submit applications online (https://portal.neighborlysoftware.com/ORANGECOUNTYNC/Participant/).
- Paper applications can be picked up at the Orange County Housing offices (on the 3rd Floor of the Whitted Building at 300 West Tryon Street in Hillsborough or at Southern Human Services Center at 2501 Homestead Rd in Chapel Hill) and submitted in dropboxes at the same locations.
- The Housing Helping is available to help anyone with assistance in completing their application. Call 919-245-2655 or email HousingHelp@orangecountync.gov.
The EHA Program has provided over $6.35 million in housing assistance to more than 1,600 Orange County residents since March 2020. Orange County also administered the first round of the HOPE Program beginning in the Fall of 2020 and disbursed $1.9 million to over 400 families. Combined, the programs have provided over $8 million to ensure residents can remain in stable housing.