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30 <br /> The County, in partnership with the Towns, also administers the Emergency Housing Assistance program <br /> for people who apply directly, come through Coordinated Entry (called the Orange County"Housing <br /> Helpline"), or are referred by service providers and are experiencing housing insecurity.The fund can <br /> assist with pay for rent, mortgage, and utility payments, security and utility deposits, and certain other <br /> one-time expenses to help households at risk of, or currently experiencing, homelessness or to help <br /> individuals remain stably housed. <br /> AP-75 Barriers to Affordable Housing <br /> Introduction <br /> In 2020, the Orange County HOME Consortium worked with the Center for Urban and Regional Studies <br /> at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill to conduct an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing <br /> Choice (AI).The Al includes an analysis of Orange County laws, regulations, and administrative policies, <br /> procedures, and practices that affect the location, availability, and accessibility of housing.The Al also <br /> includes an assessment of conditions, both public and private, that affect fair housing choice. <br /> The Al identified the following impediments to fair housing: <br /> • A lack of affordable housing has resulted in severe rent burdens among many renters, <br /> especially those with low and moderate incomes. A majority of renters in the county are rent- <br /> burdened—spending over 30%of household income toward rent and utilities; this figure <br /> exceeds 85%for households earning below$35,000 and is still over half for households earning <br /> $35,000–$49,999. Meanwhile, over 80%of households earning under$20,000 are severely rent- <br /> burdened (meaning they pay over half their income toward rent and utilities), as are nearly 40% <br /> of households earning$20,000–$34,999. <br /> • African American and Hispanic residents face difficulties receiving conventional mortgage <br /> loans.The denial rate for first-lien, conventional mortgages for African Americans is consistently <br /> over four times that of Whites, and the denial rate for Hispanic households is between two and <br /> four times that of Whites as well.The most common reasons for denial, as noted in the HMDA <br /> data, are credit history for African Americans (33% of all denial reasons) and debt-to-income <br /> ratio for Hispanic households (49% of all denial reasons). <br /> • Based on the number of fair housing complaints filed, disabled persons face difficulties <br /> accessing fair housing. Nearly half of all fair housing complaints filed in the 2010-2018 period <br /> were filed due to discrimination based on disability. Given that the county's population with a <br /> disability is approximately 12,500, and that over a quarter of the elderly are also disabled, this is <br /> a significant barrier to fair housing. <br /> • There exists a lack of subsidized rental properties outside the Towns of Chapel Hill and <br /> Carrboro.The only public housing in the county is located in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, and the <br /> vast majority of other subsidized properties are located in either Chapel Hill or Carrboro. To that <br /> end, six subsidized developments exist in Hillsborough, one exists in the Orange County portion <br /> of Mebane, and only one subsidized property exists in unincorporated Orange County. <br /> • Zoning throughout the county largely restricts the development of denser, more affordable <br /> Annual Action Plan 26 <br /> FY 2022-2023 <br />