NC's HOPE Program says it mistakenly paid $2.9 million in pandemic rental assistance

State housing officials tell WRAL 5 On Your Side they paid $2.9 million to people they shouldn’t have during the pandemic. They’re now working on getting that money back.

A Raleigh woman reached out to 5 On Your Side for help after she says the state accused her of accepting funds she shouldn’t have taken.

North Carolina’s HOPE Program helped more than 86,000 households by administering $275.9 million in rental assistance. It provided a crucial financial lifeline to people like Elizabeth Brammer during the pandemic.

Brammer lost her job at the start of the pandemic and by the spring of 2021, she was nearly six months behind on rent. Brammer applied for housing aid through the HOPE Program and was approved. Her landlord received $9,780 and used the money to pay Brammer’s rent. Brammer then received an additional $9,780. The HOPE Program issued multiple payments to recipients, so Brammer thought nothing of the additional check.

“We thought that check was for the next six months of rent," Brammer said. "My landlord put it in his rental account applied it to my rent, we have documentation to prove all this, and we just went about our lives.”

However, more than two years after HOPE approved Brammer, she was told the second $9,780 check was a duplicate and it needed to be paid back. Brammer was confused and shocked. All the money had gone to pay for her housing.

“I don’t have $9,780. I don’t even have $9,” she said.

Brammer tried to get more information, without any luck.

“Every time we would respond to them, they would respond back to us with the exact same thing,” she said.

Fed up, she reached out to WRAL 5 On Your Side, and 5 On Your Side reached out to the HOPE Program. Within a few days, the HOPE Program canceled their quest for repayment.

“If you’ve had any kind of problem with rental assistance, and they are asking to pay it back, please contact WRAL,” Brammer said.

The state lists several reasons why they would ask for the money back, including duplicate payments. Once the state determined a person was overpaid by the HOPE Program the person must pay it back. There is no appeals process. However, in the case of Brammer, the state told 5 On Your Side that it re-reviewed Brammer’s case after it was brought to them, and they determined Brammer’s checks were not duplicates. Rather separate checks used for separate periods.

The state says final notices for repayments will go out to landlords by July 10.