Rising rent prices, Rolesville affordable housing complex residents question where to go next

ROLESVILLE, N. C. (WNCN) – Senior residents are feeling the stress of rising rent costs at an affordable housing complex in Rolesville.

The Grande at Granite Falls has been home to several residents for the last few years and was designed for tenants 62 years and older. Some residents have come forward with a notification letter to vacate because they aren’t able to pay the increased rent that’s also come at the end of their lease. Tenants said they’re looking at monthly rent prices going up by nearly 50-60%.

Maria Alvarez, pointed to documents that showed her rent had more than doubled. Rolesville Mayor Ronnie Currin and State Senator Mary Bode recently visited the tenants as some have reached out wondering what to do and where they may end up next. “These people have worked their whole lives and live on a fixed income and are being forced out on the street… Even if people have been given a couple months notice, there just aren’t a lot of options out here in Wake County,” said Senator Bode.

Senator Bode said similar affordable housing opportunities in Wake County for people 62 years and older have a waiting list of about two to five years. “People here are telling me they’re going to have to live in their car. For many of these tenants, we’re just trying to make sure they have a place to go when they can no longer afford to live here,” the state senator added.

Fran Hanson and others living at the facility said they have reached out to other affordable housing facilities and programs to help with their next move. “We checked into Section 8 and the waiting list is like five years long. I’m not trying to be sarcastic, but for a lot of people, they might not even live five years,” Hanson said.

Dawn Fagan, the Executive Director of the Housing Authority of the County of Wake, said Hanson’s statement is more of a reality than some might imagine. She said they haven’t been able to open applications for Section 8 vouchers since May of 2020. “It’s kind of heart-wrenching actually.

I get those emails and I just know we don’t have an open waiting list. Neither one of our programs is open for new applications,” said Fagan. The executive director said they’re still working to assist more than 600 Wake County residents who applied for Section 8 vouchers three years ago—another 214 are on a waiting list and more than 800 are waiting on public housing.

“We hear it from all over, housing authorities all over the country are struggling with the same thing… It’s hard to tell people ‘no’ when we know there’s so much need out there. ” Fagan added. With little options for affordable housing, Fagan believes part of the solution begins with increasing funding to provide assistance to support programs.

She said Wake County has the opportunity to house a lot more people—the funding just isn’t there. “We also have experienced a good influx of people coming from other counties, from other housing authorities, from other areas, and about 50% of those find a place. The other 50% end up going back where they came from or go somewhere else,” Fagan said.

While there is some support, she said some residents may consider looking outside of Wake County to find more affordable options. Town, county and state leaders said they are working to find short and long-term solutions to the problem. “Affordable housing is a huge issue and one we need to do a much better job at addressing.

Wake County has grown significantly, and we have a significant population that is aging. We really need to be proactive instead of reactive because these people deserve a place to live, too,” State Senator Bode included. .