THE PROBLEM
There are at least 10,000 low income families who are one paycheck away from homelessness because they pay more than half their income toward housing. This problem has grown since the start of the pandemic. Four out of five of these families earn less than $43,000 each year. Rents in the region have increased by 42% between 2011 and 2018, with residents experiencing a rent increase of 7% in 2017. In Albemarle County the affordability requirements for 445 units will expire within the next 10 years, potentially kicking 445 families into the streets. Seniors and people of color are affected at disproportionate rates.
WHAT ARE WE ASKING
We need Albemarle County to take action so that enough homes can be built for everyone in our community to have a safe, accessible and affordable home. The largest obstacle to building affordable housing is funding. Over 850 communities across the country have begun to address this be establishing affordable housing trust funds that leverage public dollars to create more affordable housing. In fact, IMPACT got the city of Charlottesville to establish a housing trust fund in 2008, that has now funded the construction and renovation of nearly 3500 affordable homes. Albemarle County does have a “housing fund”, but it does not have any governing ordinance or dedicated funding, which are critical to being able to be strategic and targeted in building more affordable housing.
IMPACT is pushing Albemarle County to pass a policy or ordinance creating an affordable housing trust fund. We want the ordinance to include: 1) An annual allocation of at least $10MM a year, 2) an independent governing structure for the expenditure of the funds and a requirement for public annual reports, and 3) prioritizing funding for the construction of housing for families making less than 60% of the area median income, about $75,000 a year.
PROGRESS SO FAR
When we first voted on housing as an issue in 2017, Albemarle County did not have a long-range housing plan or any long-term funding for affordable housing.
Since 2017, IMPACT has been able to push the county and made some major headway on addressing affordable housing:
- Albemarle County now has a housing plan in place, that includes the establishment of an affordable housing trust fund
- Albemarle County created their “Housing Investment Fund,” which has operated as a source of affordable housing funding while they work to create an official housing trust fund
- This year, Albemarle County dedicated $5.2MM towards funding of new housing construction, and $500K towards eviction relief; with the creation of a recurring funding stream for the first time in County history
All of this happened because IMPACT brought together over 1000 people every year to push the County forward. Just this past year in 2025 there were 1200 people at our Nehemiah Action, and we won commitments from 3 current supervisors, and one recently elected supervisor, to prioritize getting to $10MM in 2026. Our goals of a trust fund with clear governance and $10MM will continue, and we will keep pushing forward this issue until the County reaches them.