North Carolina Emergency Rental Assistance Program

Overview

As COVID-19 created an unprecedented housing crisis, North Carolina needed to rapidly deploy emergency rental assistance to prevent mass evictions while maintaining program integrity. The state faced the challenge of distributing hundreds of millions of dollars quickly and equitably while preventing fraud and serving diverse populations across urban and rural communities.

Approach

Developed multi-layered verification systems that prevented fraud without creating unnecessary barriers for legitimate applicants. Deployed digital application systems that streamlined processing while maintaining audit trails. Designed outreach and application processes to serve vulnerable populations, partnering with community organizations to reach underserved areas.

Results

• 100,000+ households served with housing stability during crisis
• Fraud rate below 1% while processing applications rapidly
• 7-day average processing from application to payment
• 98% satisfaction rate from both landlords and tenants
• Featured as best practice by federal agencies; fraud prevention framework adapted by multiple states