Affordable housing was the top health issue identified by Durham County residents in the 2017 Community Health Assessment process carried over for 2020. Housing is the foundation of a healthy life. Many studies show a strong correlation between the quality of housing and physical and mental health.

The first chart below shows the percentage of home owners within races and ethnicities in Durham. There are still major disparities in home ownership between races. About 59% of white homes are owned while 0.2% of Native Americans own their homes. The second chart indicates the percentage of income spent on housing. According to the Department of Housing and Development (HUD), anyone who pays 30% or more of their income towards housing is considered housing cost burdened. In 2021, 48.6% of renters were considered cost burdened in Durham, with the vast majority of those who are cost burdened, 36.7%, paying more than 35% of their income in rent. While this is a high percentage, this is slightly lower than the 51% of housing cost burdened renters in Durham in 2019.

The City of Durham’s Community Development Department is funding a Down Payment Assistance Program. Beginning in May of 2022, families and low-income individuals were able to apply for financial assistance to help purchase a home in Durham city limits. Those who are eligible can receive up to $20,000 for down payment and closing cost through a forgivable loan with a 0% interest rate. This initiative is intended to make home ownership more attainable for those who live in Durham but can’t afford the current for-sale market prices.

The Partnership for a Healthy Durham Health and Housing committee has hosted presentations from community partners on how their work intersects with health and housing. These presentations have brought to light many resources available and the need for a hub of information in a centralized location. The committee will continue encouraging housing service providers with the resources and capacity to utilize NCCARE360. They are exploring an alternative that requires less maintenance, but provides accurate information for organizations that cannot use NCCARE360. Additionally, the committee has developed a document with healthy housing resources. This includes topics such as data and advocacy; health, safety, and energy efficiency; designing for health and wellbeing; equitable access to housing; history of housing in Durham; community organizing and policy change; housing legislation; and ongoing projects.