Victory for the Disaster Recovery Community

The NC disaster recovery community secured a big win this year when the Real Estate Commission accepted a petition to the regulatory body to adopt significantly stronger disclosures around previously flooded properties. Prospective homebuyers will now be able to make more fully informed decisions about flood risks and prior flooding when purchasing a home. 

In February 2023, six organizations, including the NC Disaster Recovery and Resiliency Network and the NC Justice Center, got word that their petition, filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center to the NC Real Estate Commission had been accepted. The petition sought to add critical flood related questions to the Real Estate Disclosure Form.

“This is a huge win for the communities that are most impacted by flooding. For those of us that have to purchase homes in flood prone areas, we can now know if the homes we are considering living in have been previously flooded. Homes that have been flooded often require thousands of dollars of repair and remediation,” Anita Cunningham, Director of the NC Disaster and Resilience Network said. 

“The Commission’s decision is an important step towards our vision of a more just and transparent disaster recovery system,” Andrew Loeb Shoenig, MDC Inc. Program Director said. 

The NC Disaster Recovery and Resilience Network is an organization committed to working with disaster-impacted communities to ensure they are informed, prepared, and have a seat at the table when decisions are being made that impact their lives. The Network engages with low income rural and BIPOC communities who are disproportionately affected by natural and unnatural disasters, legacy pollution, and other environmental justice issues.