?Ÿ?¡ Home Repairs and Reduced Energy Costs - Check Your Eligibility Today!

The City of Charlotte and Duke Energy Carolinas are launching an income-qualified energy efficiency home rehabilitation pilot program.  The High Energy Use Pilot Program will help income-qualified customers with high energy use receive much-needed home repairs and energy efficiency retrofits that will improve housing safety and reduce their electricity usage and overall costs.

Duke Energy created the pilot in collaboration with stakeholders at the request of the North Carolina Utilities Commission to provide energy efficiency retrofits for income-qualified, high-electrical use customers at no cost to the customer. However, as many as 40% of households that could be eligible for this program would not be able to participate due to health and safety issues in the home, particularly housing repair issues such as damage to doors, windows or the roof that need to be addressed first. The funding provided by the city through this public-private partnership will ensure that customers who otherwise would not be able to engage in this pilot will now be able to take advantage of these retrofits.

Duke Energy will invest approximately $4 million in the Charlotte region to support energy retrofits for approximately 500 high-electrical use, income-qualified customers. The city will provide up to $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to support home repairs necessary before energy efficiency retrofits can occur.

Home repairs may include window, roof, chimney, plumbing, or water heater repairs or replacements, pressure relief valve installation, mechanical ventilation and lead-based paint hazard control.  

Energy retrofit measures may include:

Charlotte is one of three North Carolina municipalities, including Forsyth and Guilford counties, selected for the pilot program. The initial goal is to assist 1,000 participants over a two-year span from an estimated 22,000 income-qualified residents in all identified areas.

Duke Energy is accepting applications for the program now, and the first service appointments will start in mid-May, with an emphasis on homes that are in the city's Corridors of Opportunity. For more information or to apply, customers can visit duke-energy.com/highusehelp.

?Ÿ“· BEFORE & AFTER PHOTOS: Transformational Housing Rehab Project

Housing Services provides several housing repair programs for low-income city residents. One of them, the Safe Home Housing Rehabilitation program, provides grants to low-income homeowners to address needed home repairs. The program seeks to correct code violations, fix items in a house that will need to be repaired or replaced in two to three years, and make general property improvements. The program serves single-family owner-occupied dwellings.

Depicted above are some before-and-after photos of a recent rehabilitation project.

Contractor: Jasper Environmental Services
Scope of Work:

• Asbestos abatement
• Demolish and rebuild bathroom
• Handrails rehabilitation
• Resilient flooring installation
• HVAC replacement
• Duct work replacement
• Smoke/carbon monoxide detector installation
• Electrical service replacement
• Lead-based paint hazards removal
• Termite extermination
• Vapor barrier installation
• Insulation installation

Nice work, Housing Services and Jasper Environmental Services!

?Ÿ–Š?¸? YOUR INPUT IS NEEDED: Corporate Owned Rentals

Mecklenburg County is collaborating with The Lee Institute to conduct a public participation process about corporate owned rentals and corporate landlords. 
 
Institutional investors, also known as corporate landlords, have increased their investments in single-family homes to convert them to rental properties. Charlotte-Mecklenburg experiences high levels of this investor activity. For this research process, the county defines corporate landlords as large, institutional investors owning 100+ single-family homes, not “mom-and-pop” LLCs that own and rent out a handful of properties. To learn more about this process and participate, residents are encouraged to visit MecklenburgHousing.com.

?Ÿ“½?¸? VIDEO: Exploring Corporate Buyer Deterrence Strategies

This educational workshop helps explain property rights and corporate buyer deterrence opportunities for individual property owners, Homeowners Association (HOA) and Condominium Associations (CA). The workshop includes rights, powers and best practices for property owners and neighborhoods to impact corporate investment interest based on their organizational status.

The city is aware of corporate investment concerns and continues to explore options within its legal abilities to support persons who desire to stay in their homes to remain, and to educate those who proactively seek to deter corporate investor interest. The city's support is not advocacy, legal advice, nor a judgment of corporate investment, rather a means to educate residents to define and apply their desired path.

?Ÿ?˜?¸? April is National Fair Housing Month

The Fair Housing Act protects people from discrimination when they are renting, buying, or securing financing for any housing. The prohibitions specifically cover discrimination because of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and disability.

April is set aside as National Fair Housing Month, promoting communities that are open and welcoming, free from housing discrimination and hostility. This campaign is held in April in honor of the Fair Housing Act being signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on April 11, 1968 and in remembrance of the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.

Below are some city resources related to fair housing.

• Rental Housing Handbook
• Landlord-Tenant Brochure
• Landlord-Tenant Dispute Referral Form
• Housing Discrimination Complaint Form
• Source of Income Protections (SOIP) Policy

?Ÿ—º?¸? View Affordable Housing Options in Your Area

Interested in seeing a map and list of subsidized affordable housing in Charlotte? Check out this new tool!

Development-based housing units include:

• Developments with funding from the Charlotte Housing Trust Fund,
• Public housing developments from Inlivian (formerly the Charlotte Housing Authority),
• Developments of the DreamKey Partners (formerly the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing Partnership)
• Units subsidized by Low-Income Housing Tax Credits
• Developments with active Section 202 Direct Loans for housing for the elderly or people with disabilities,
• Units with active Project-Based Rental Assistance Section 8 Contracts through HUD
• Units with active HOME Rental Assistance subsidies through HUD.

?Ÿ“½?¸? VIDEO: Let's Go on a Guided Tour of 311's Headquarters

CharMeck 311 serves as the customer contact center providing information and services for customers in the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.  

In this guided tour, Raquishela Stewart, CharMeck 311 division manager, guides us through 311’s primary work floor, the escalation team room where escalations are handled for their partner Charlotte Water, staff training rooms, and workforce offices. 

If you’re ever in town and you want to stop by, dial 3-1-1! 

?Ÿ“½?¸? VIDEO: 311 On the Go in the Community

Photo courtesy of La Raza 106.1 FM Charlotte, NC.

CharMeck 311 has a partnership with Norsan Media to go out into the Latino community and share information about their services and when to contact 311. Norsan Media is a Hispanic media group, providing in-depth coverage in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida. In March, 311 staff attended a 311 On The Go and Norsan Media event to raise awareness about CharMeck 311 customer service for Spanish-speaking residents. The event was held at Compare Foods Supermarket on North Sharon Amity Road.

?Ÿ“½?¸? VIDEO: Corridors of Opportunity and Keep Charlotte Beautiful Cohost Corridor Cleanup

On Saturday, Feb. 11, community members gathered at the soon-to-be-opened Marquee Lounge at 3131 Tuckaseegee Road in a cleanup event held by the city’s Corridors of Opportunity team and Keep Charlotte Beautiful.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY

Would you like to volunteer with Keep Charlotte Beautiful (KCB)? Join KCB for a beautification event on Earth Day as part of Great American Cleanup (GAC). The GAC is the nation's largest annual community improvement program.

Time and date: Saturday, Apr. 22, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm.
Location: Windsor Park Elementary, 3910 Sudbury Road Charlotte, NC 28205
Activities: litter cleanup, mulch spreading, pollinator planting, mural painting, and more!

Code Enforcement Tip of the Month

Graffiti is a violation of city code. If you see graffiti in your neighborhood, please report it by calling 311, submitting an online request or downloading the CLT+ app.

Volunteers Celebrated This Week

National Volunteer Week, April 17 – 23, is a time to recognize and celebrate the invaluable contributions of volunteers in our communities. This week, let's express our gratitude and appreciation for the volunteers who make a difference in our lives and communities every day. Thank you for your service! Below are a few volunteer opportunities for events taking place during National Volunteer Week.

• April 17–21: Clean the Queen Event with SWS and Envision Charlotte
• April 21: Realtors Care Day
• April 22: Great American Cleanup Beautification Event (Windsor Park Elementary)

?Ÿ“° CITY-RELATED NEWS: In case you missed it

The possible future of former Eastland Mall site
"The site is located within one of six Corridors of Opportunity, the city’s initiative to create safer environments through affordable housing, improving transportation and urban design. Charlotte City Council has pledged to use the 69-acre lot to revitalize east Charlotte."

A new creative space in west Charlotte offers a ‘taste of the real world’
"A creative space for youth recently opened in the basement of a church in west Charlotte. The space has been transformed to expose teens to technology, including 3D printers, a podcast room, video production and an entrepreneurship program."

'Violence interrupters' and the impact on west Charlotte neighborhoods
"Federico Rios, with Charlotte’s Housing and Neighborhood Services, said the Beatties Ford Road site has had “a statistically significant lower rate of homicides committed with a firearm” compared to neighborhoods with similar demographics."

Habitat for Humanity celebrates 40 years in Charlotte
"Lapri Holmes is going from living in a one-bedroom apartment in the Charlotte area with rising rent to a three-bedroom, 2.5 bath house with help from Habitat for Humanity."

Leaders discuss improvements to Charlotte’s housing trust fund
"That fund provides financing for affordable housing projects through voter-approved bonds."

Charlotte OKs plan to buy, demolish 2 aging motels, paving a way for affordable housing
The $4.2 million proposal called for the acquisition of Economy Inn and Budget Inn on Reagan Drive near Sugar Creek Road.