ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Gee Gee says she’ll stretch the latest donation from Bounty and Soul into as many meals as she can.
What You Need To Know
Rent increased by 20% in North Carolina in 2021
Asheville is the most expensive city in the Tar Heel State
Families like Gee Gee's are turning to nonprofit organizations to help them pay other bills, so they can afford their rent
She asked Spectrum News to only use her first name. She says last year her landlord raised the rent on her Shiloh home by $200 to $1,200 a month. So, she’s cutting costs where she can, like with groceries.
Her son, who’s 20 years old, has sickle cell disease. Since he was a kid, trips to the hospital happened frequently, making it hard for Gee Gee to keep a job.
“I end up either getting fired or quitting lots of jobs, because my family came first,” she said.
Gee Gee is one of thousands of Asheville renters whose rent spiked last year, according to Apartment List.
The rental website’s latest report shows the city’s median rent for a two-bedroom apartment is now more than $1,700 a month, making Asheville North Carolina’s most expensive city to rent in.
The city's 25% rent spike from 2021 to 2022 is 5% higher than the state's average increase, reflected by other large cities, like Charlotte and Raleigh, where rent jumped 20%.
Gee Gee says her landlord wanted to raise her rent even more but luckily the rental agency that manages the property blocked it.
“We would have to move, but then it’s like where would we go?” she said. “Because everything is, I mean just the fact that $1,200 is kind of on the lower end of the rent here in Asheville.”
Gee Gee says there are also other sacrifices. Her family’s been limiting how they heat their home, stretching heating oil as much as possible. But, they ran out last Monday, because of the recent snow storms.
For now, they’re depending on space heaters.
“In order to keep the house decent, we have to have several of them,” she said. “So, we have two in the living room, one in the bathroom and one in our bedroom.”
But, even that comes at a high price in driving up her electricity bill.
She’s turned to Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry for help.
On Tuesday, she was told to wait outside for the agency’s decision, and after an hour and a half, she was given an answer.
“They figured out how to pay for 100 gallons of oil for us, but it’s not coming until Saturday. So, I have to figure out how to keep everything warm from now until Saturday.”
Greensboro saw a 23% rent increase. But, on the coast, rent is rising slower than the state average. Wilmington only saw a 15% increase last year.