State lawmakers question Charleston County housing authority over proposed sale of 30 houses

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD)- The Charleston County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (CCHRA) is moving ahead with a plan to sell 30 houses despite concerns from state lawmakers.

The housing authority listed 30 single-family homes for sale last month in a bid to raise money for other projects, including major improvements at Joseph Floyd Manor , a low-income housing complex on the Charleston peninsula.

According to officials, the building needs a roof replacement, repairs to piping in the basement, and a new sump pump, among other critical maintenance projects.

“We’re going to use the majority of that money to rehab Joseph Floyd Manor and move that forward,” CEO Angela Childers said, adding that the remaining money would go toward creating new housing complexes.

The 30 single-story homes, many of which were described as in “extremely poor condition” or abandoned, are collectively valued at $7.75 million and were listed with an Aug. 18 offer deadline. All have since had offers placed on them but none have closed yet, Childers said.

It is not the first time the housing authority has put up single-family affordable housing units for sale to bring in extra money.

The housing authority sold 18 homes to Charleston County in 2021 with 90-year deed restrictions to maintain affordability. But this time, there are no buyer restrictions, one concern that promoted several state legislators to call for an investigation into the plan.

“There’s got to be investors out there that are willing to do something like this that will get the properties off the books, get the income from the properties. We would be able to keep 30 homes and have affordable housing inventory while still having profit from them to put into Joseph Floyd Manor,” Rep. Tom Hartnett (R-Charleston) said.

Childers explained that the housing authority board considered placing a deed restriction on the 30 for-sale properties but ultimately decided against it.

“We chose not to because that would limit the amount of money we could receive from the sale of the homes,” she said.

Lawmakers had the chance to hear from Childers on Monday night, raising several other questions about the proposed sale and the ongoing affordable housing shortage.

Rep. JA Moore (D-Charleston) inquired why the 30 properties have remained vacant and deteriorated over the past several years given that more than 600 people are on the agency’s waitlist for housing.

“The units were vacant to my understanding because the county housing authority did not have the funds to repair them at the time,” Childers responded. “Once they were vacant so long, it was cost-prohibitive to repair them to the state where they needed to be to rent them affordably.”

As part of its mission, the housing authority “provides quality affordable housing and assists in improving economic opportunities for low-income citizens of Charleston County.” It currently operates 351 public housing units and provides more than 1,000 housing choice vouchers across the county.

But, the proposed sale sparked doubts among lawmakers about whether the authority is committed to that mission and whether the move is merely a short-term financial fix at the expense of long-term needs.

“On multiple levels, it’s concerning that we would be giving up and losing 30 units from our affordable, attainable housing,” Rep. Mark Smith (R-Berkeley) previously told News 2. “Why in the world would we want to eliminate any of that inventory from the books?”

Travis Bedson, who sits on CCHRA’s Board of Commissioners, said they aren’t.

“They were technically on the books but not in use, so it’s not like we’re taking 30 homes off the market,” he said.

It also comes at a time when the housing authority has faced criticism over conditions at some of its properties, including Joseph Floyd Manor where reports of bed bugs, roaches, and rodents began surfacing in 2020.

In 2023 — the same year Childers took over — the housing authority was designated as “troubled” by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

It remained under that status as of mid-August, according to a HUD spokesperson.

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