State Government
It took four months for the state to put a rental assistance program amid the economic fallout of COVID-19 — even after there was a general agreement on the issue among Republicans and DFLers.
Community Voices
A moratorium on evictions has kept countless families in their homes these past two months. But that minimal and temporary safeguard will be effectively erased when Gov. Walz’s order expires.
Metro
The proposal is modeled on Washington, D.C.’s, Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, or TOPA, which allows tenants match bonafide offers for rental properties when owners put them up for sale.
Metro
The city is looking to establish “straightforward and consistent” rules requiring developers to include affordable units as part of all new housing projects. Not everyone is on board.
Metro
Housing advocates and officials across the metro are boosting efforts to raise awareness of the need for Section 8 housing.
Metro
City Council President Lisa Bender and Council Member Jeremiah Ellison are writing new language based on feedback from landlords, renters and colleagues that followed the release of draft ordinances.
Cityscape
“They have emergency situations, or a family member passes away,” said one renter, and soon people in crisis risk eviction and future denials of housing. Proposals are being developed to address these and other tenant issues, drawing pushback from some landlords.
State Government
The state of Minnesota is hardly the only funding source for affordable housing projects — but it is often a key source.
Metro
Four years after allowing the structures, Minneapolis has permitted 137 ADUs.
State Government
One proposal, which has bipartisan support, would allow those who donate to affordable housing projects to take a dollar-for-dollar credit off of their state income tax bill.
Metro
Built to address the needs of those who’d been living at the Franklin Hiawatha homeless encampment, the navigation center must close by May 31, when the property owner — the Red Lake Nation — plans to break ground on an affordable housing complex.
Metro
The mayor talks affordable housing, public safety, and learning to code.
Politics & Policy
Right now, a growing number of Minneapolis renter households are spending more than half their incomes on housing.
Community Sketchbook
As the debate around the city’s housing crisis takes center stage, the organization sees an opportunity to elevate their crusade for better living conditions and landlord accountability.
Economic Vitality in Greater Minnesota
“We are just scratching the surface of what’s needed in terms of rehab,” said Dale Slagter, Kandiyohi County’s housing rehabilitation manager. “There is a lot of need out here.”
Politics & Policy
The mayor presented his 2019 budget in a 45-minute speech to about 50 people inside City Council chambers Wednesday morning.
Community Sketchbook
Mino Oski Ain Dah Yung, a partnership between the Ain Dah Yung Center and Project For Pride In Living, will provide 42 units of permanent housing.
Community Voices
Legislators and advocates should and could have pursued resources other than MHFA’s limited funds for the Fort Snelling housing project.
Politics & Policy
In recent years, multifamily has increased from making up 29 percent of new units constructed in Twin Cities suburbs in 2013 to 50 percent in 2017.
Economic Vitality in Greater Minnesota
Le Sueur is a medium-population county an hour southwest of the Twin Cities. Its eviction filing rate is one of the highest in the state.
