As deadline looms, Minnesota struggles to spend COVID funds set aside for rental, mortgage assistance
The plan was to use $100 million of Minnesota’s federal CARES Act money to pay for the COVID-19 Housing Assistance Program.
Housing
Minneapolis’ newest council member on homelessness, renters’ rights and why he wants to reform — not dismantle — the police
A Q&A with Jamal Osman, who won the Aug. 11 special election for the Minneapolis City Council seat representing Ward 6.
Public policy needs more input from renters, but organizing them is difficult
The task of organizing tenants poses all sorts of social barriers. But physical barriers can be important too.
Minnesota’s eviction-ban update carves out some narrow exceptions
The newest update allows landlords to evict tenants who have “significantly damaged property” or if the property manager or their family needs to move in.
The state is putting $100 million toward rental assistance for low-income Minnesotans. Why did it take so long?
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.
Lawmakers must make sure rents and mortgages will be forgiven for those unable to pay
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.
Minneapolis council members want to give tenants the chance to purchase rental properties
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.
Minneapolis’ ‘inclusionary zoning’ policy takes shape, even as developers cry foul
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.
How Twin Cities suburbs are trying to address the need for more Section 8 housing
Housing advocates and officials across the metro are boosting efforts to raise awareness of the need for Section 8 housing.
Minneapolis officials get an earful about proposed rules on renter screening, security deposits
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.
Minneapolis renters’ input informs new housing-stability proposals
“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.
Despite some big wins at 2019 Legislature, affordable housing advocates say much more needs to be done
The state of Minnesota is hardly the only funding source for affordable housing projects — but it is often a key source.
Accessory dwelling units were supposed to help ease the Twin Cities’ housing crunch. How’s that working out?
Four years after allowing the structures, Minneapolis has permitted 137 ADUs.
At the Capitol, the argument over how best to deal with Minnesota’s affordable housing crisis meets the need to get something done
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.
More than 120 people are living at Minneapolis’ ‘navigation center.’ Time is running out to find them permanent housing
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.
‘The biggest surprise is the number of big surprises’: a Q&A with St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter on his first year in office
The mayor talks affordable housing, public safety, and learning to code.
How Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey plans to spend $40 million on affordable housing
Right now, a growing number of Minneapolis renter households are spending more than half their incomes on housing.
Inquilinxs Unidxs Por Justicia’s long fight for low-income renters
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.
Greater Minnesota cities struggle to sustain their oldest homes — but loans and education are helping
“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.”
Five takeaways from Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s first budget address
The mayor presented his 2019 budget in a 45-minute speech to about 50 people inside City Council chambers Wednesday morning.
