Housing in Durham
Understanding housing in Durham can be difficult. We hope these resources make it easier.
Housing in Durham
There are four sections to this page that will be rolled out over the month of March.
01.
An Overview of Housing in Durham
Resources available and the challenges we still face.
02.
Durham's Strategic Plan to End Homelessness
A new, comprehensive framework to make homelessness rare and brief for everyone by 2031.
03.
Faith-based Responses
Examples of faith communities that have addressed housing in Durham and beyond.
04.
How to Act
What you can do to join others in making Durham a place where housing is safe, healthy, affordable, and accessible.
01.
Housing in Durham: An Overview
Why Does Housing Matter?
Housing is more than shelter. It is a foundation for…
Health
Mental health
Public health
Physical safety
Job stability
School attendance
Early childhood development
Neighborhoods and community cohesion
Transportation access
Communal economic wellbeing
Good use of public resources
A just housing ecosystem is part of God’s vision for shalom:
(Isaiah 65: 21-22)
“They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat.”
In Durham, many are working toward a just housing ecosystem, but many forces are working against it. We’re not there yet.
Next week we will share about the Strategic Plan to End Homelessness, a comprehensive vision to make homelessness rare and brief by 2031.
Source: https://housingfornewhope.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2025-sohah-final.pdf
- People are experiencing homelessness in Durham
- Report updated as of January 31, 2026
- Only ~27 units are available for every 100 extremely low-income renters, meaning thousands lack affordable options
- 31% of Durham households are cost-burdened (pay more than 30% of their income on housing)
Housing Insecurity
What is housing insecurity?
The absence of stable, safe, and affordable housing.
What causes housing insecurity?
Upkeep exceeds ability to pay
Wages don’t match housing costs
Medical bills create financial crisis
Job loss creates financial crisis
Property taxes increase
What resources are available if someone is facing housing insecurity?
- Most of the resources for financial assistance are found on the DCIA financial assistance guide.
- In North Carolina, a landlord must give a tenant notice for non-payment and then file an eviction in court if rent isn’t paid. The case is heard in small claims court, and the landlord can only remove a tenant after a court judgment and writ of possession. Legal Aid provides resources and legal representation to prevent eviction and keep people housed.
- Legal Aid provides resources and legal representation to prevent eviction and keep people housed
- The Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) uses federal funds to provide energy-saving improvements on homes of low-income Wake County and Durham residents (no age limit).
- The Low-Income Energy Assistance Program provides support for home energy costs. Learn more
- Foreclosure in Durham County is typically initiated for unpaid property taxes or mortgage defaults. The county tax collector or mortgage trustee follows legal procedures, and homes can be sold under court supervision. Legal Aid and housing counseling resources are available to help homeowners at risk.
These resources are not enough.
Durham has 187 more people experiencing homelessness than we had in February last year.
Homelessness
In Durham, where can someone who is experiencing homelessness go?
Call Entry Point
984.287.8313
Entry point is a coordinated program involving almost all shelters and services for people experiencing homelessness in Durham.
Find Alternative Shelter or Transitional Housing
See the Durham Congregations in Action list.
Right now, Durham does not have the capacity to match the need.
There is not enough affordable housing to move people from emergency housing into permanent housing. There is not enough emergency shelter to house the number of people who become homeless.
Durham’s Strategic Plan to End Homelessness will address this. More on this initiative next week.
Overflow Shelters
Expanding Shelter
Other Services for People Experiencing Homelessness
Affordable Housing
Building Affordable Housing
People experience housing insecurity and homelessness primarily because housing is unaffordable. These are some different approaches to affordable housing:
- Public Housing – publicly-owned housing
- Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) – gov’t subsidy for private housing
- LIHTC (Section 42) Housing – affordable housing financed with tax credits
Habitat for Humanity – leverages volunteers and donations to create affordable, no/low-interest mortgage
Durham Community Land Trustees – owns the land, rents/sells the home to make it affordable
CASA and DHIC – strategic financing and design to make it affordable
Housing for New Hope – nonprofit-owned affordable housing
Even with these great resources, housing continues to become unaffordable for more and more people as rents and housing costs outpace wages.
Durham’s Strategic Plan to End Homelessness
In response, Durham is launching a collective, community-driven, and data-driven framework with a bold, achievable goal: to make homelessness rare and brief by 2031.
02.
Durham’s Strategic Plan to End Homelessness
The vision:
to make homelessness rare and brief by 2031.
THE INITIATIVE BEGAN WITH LISTENING SESSIONS WITH:
This included individuals with lived experience of being unhoused, frontline service providers, and community leaders from healthcare, business, nonprofit, and government.
The result:
a dynamic, cross-sector, comprehensive framework for homelessness to reach functional zero in Durham by 2031.
Key Components of the Strategic Plan to End Homelessness.
- Common goal is functional zero: more housed than become homeless each month, a proven nationwide model.
- The greatest need is more affordable housing, and building more affordable housing is an essential part.
- Funding to help move people into housing quickly, keep people in housing, and provide case management.
- A widely cross-sector initiative, with Durham Community Safety Department as the backbone organization.
- The model is designed to listen and adapt as our city and environment changes.
03.
Faith in Action
How congregations are using their gifts to join the work of providing housing.
Mt.Vernon Baptist Church – Building Habitat Houses on their land.
There are many ways to be a part of community solutions to the housing crisis. Mt.Vernon Baptist Church purchased lots around their church with the neighborhood’s wellness in mind. While exploring options for the land like a senior home or affordable housing, they became aware that Durham’s Habitat for Humanity was in need of land for builds. Through dialogue and congregational consent, the land was sold to Habitat at a discounted price. The land is becoming home for ten owner-occupied properties built in part by the hands of the new owners. Some are already occupied and others are still in construction. Meanwhile, the newest residents and Mt.Vernon’s congregation get to be neighbors! Sometimes involvement just takes looking at what you already have and thinking of possibilities.
Church of the Advocate – Building tiny homes on its property.
The Episcopal Church of the Advocate in Chapel Hill started their community life without a home. They generously met in various other places of worship for their first decade. However, they knew when the time came for them to have land and a building, they were going to share it with the wider community. When they finally acquired their own land, a group of young adults who had been building relationships with unsheltered neighbors came with a proposal. Could the church build three tiny homes on the land for their new friends? With funding from the Town of Chapel Hill, UNC student fundraising, some generous individuals, the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, and the church itself, three tiny homes were built on the property in 2019. PeeWee Homes was born! It continues to help other churches and organizations in Chapel Hill do similar work. What did it take? A vision, relationships, collaboration, and the space of six parking spots! Read more about the project here. Looking for a guidebook? Check here.
Asbury United Methodist Church – Operating a shelter for unhoused Durhamites.
Sometimes getting involved just starts with a first step and following your leader. The ministers at Asbury United Methodist Church are very involved with Open Table Ministries. When they began to ask their congregation for donations of shoes, it oriented their attention. When the opportunity came to host unsheltered neighbors during winter evenings in Durham, the congregation agreed. Every night from November 15th until the end of February, our unsheltered neighbors had a warm, safe place to sleep. This was a game changer. Unsheltered Durhamnites had a stable place to sleep each night and became familiar faces for the church community. It brought the issue of housing up close and personal. Even better, the community around Asbury joined in. A place to stay grew into spaghetti dinners, hand warmers, and real human conversations. One faithful, simple step can bring a change.
04.
How to Act
There are many ways to get involved. Here are a few.
Are you part of a faith community? Explore opportunities to build affordable housing on your property. For a couple options, fill out this survey for the Faith Based Housing Initiative, or contact Coram Houses.
Your congregation can also explore opening your space for overflow shelter. If you’re interested, contact Drew Woten at Open Table Ministry at drew.woten@opentableministry.
Advocate for policies that make affordable housing possible and that help keep people in their homes, such as tenant protections or livable wages. NC Housing Coalition is a good resource for advocacy opportunities.
Duke Affordable Housing Strategic Council has opened a grant opportunity for Durham Houses of Worship (HOW) to build an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) on their land. This grant is open to all faith traditions.
The grant application will have two phases. Phase 1 focuses on understanding interest and preparedness. Phase 2 will dive deeper into operational readiness. Phase 1 is open and will close on Monday April 13, 2026, at 11:59pm. See pdf of application.
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How to Apply
- Click here.
- Create an account for your HOW in our grant platform, Foundant. (Find directions and video tutorials linked in the grey text box to the right of your screen)
- Once logged in, Click the ‘Apply’ button at the top of your screen.
- All available grants will be listed. Look for “2025-26 Affordable Housing Council ADU Grant.”
- Press ‘Apply’ to begin the application. You do not need to complete in one sitting. You can save and come back to it.
- Be sure to press the Submit button when ready. You must submit prior to the deadline (April 13 at 11:59pm) to be considered. Once you submit, the application cannot be edited.