Governor Josh Stein Announces Western North Carolina Homeowners Can Apply for Single-Family Housing Recovery Program

Today Governor Josh Stein announced the state is accepting applications for a new program to repair or rebuild homes in western North Carolina that were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Helene. The program is the first of a series of recovery initiatives to be offered by the North Carolina Commerce Department’s Division of Community Revitalization under the program name Renew NC.

"Helene caused significant damage to thousands of homes across western North Carolina,” said Governor Josh Stein. “There is a lot of work to do, and the Renew NC Housing program is the next step in helping western North Carolinians recover. If your home was damaged by Hurricane Helene, you may be eligible for assistance depending on your income, so I encourage you to apply today."

The Renew NC Single-Family Housing Program is a key initiative to address remaining long-term recovery needs of homeowners in western North Carolina and will prioritize low-to-moderate income (LMI) families. Later this year, two additional Renew NC Housing programs will be offered to address multi-family housing and workforce housing for ownership. Infrastructure and Economic Revitalization programs will also be launched in the coming months.

“We’re ready to get hammers swinging and home construction underway,” said North Carolina Department of Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley. “Today’s opening of the application period for our Renew NC Housing program is an important milestone for Hurricane Helene survivors and western North Carolina’s recovery."  

“We know the road to recovery from Hurricane Helene will be a long one,” said Division of Community Revitalization Deputy Secretary, and native western North Carolinian, Stephanie McGarrah. “We are moving with urgency and care to restore homes and rebuild communities through this program.”

The Renew NC programs are funded through a Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Of the total $1.4 billion in CDBG-DR funding that was allocated to the state for western North Carolina recovery needs, $807 million is allocated to the Renew NC Single-Family Housing Program. 

Governor Stein encourages all low to moderate income homeowners in eligible counties whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Helene to see if they are eligible and apply for housing repair or reconstruction at www.renewnc.org.  

Homeowners from these eligible counties can apply: Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg (only from zip code 28214), Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin, and Yancey.

For homeowners seeking more information about the Renew NC Housing program, please visit www.renewnc.org or call 1-888-791-0207. Program staff can help determine if you qualify for assistance from the program.

Information about the administration of the Renew NC programs can be found at the Division of Community Revitalization’s website at CommerceRecovery.nc.gov.