MHP Connect

Capitol Connect: Support the MN Tax Credit Contribution Fund

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Created: Tuesday, 20 March 2018 14:11

Written by Elizabeth Glidden and Laura Proescholdt

It’s hard to believe, but we’re already one month into the legislative session, which will end no later than May 21. This week is the first deadline for first committee hearings on bills, and legislators are preparing for spring recess the first week in April, which is a popular time to set in-district meetings or tours.

While we have a special update on MHP’s bill for a Tax Credit Contribution Fund, MHP is also working to support Homes for All Coalition priorities, including $140 million in bonds for housing: $110 million Housing Infrastructure Bonds (HIB) and $30 million General Obligation Bonds (GO), with senior and manufactured housing as new eligible uses.

As the session moves forward and legislators focus on a smaller number of bills, we will turn up the heat with legislator outreach and advocacy — and your voice is critical to our success! MHP makes it easy for you to advocate for affordable housing and influence decision makers. Reach out to Libby Murphy at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any questions and/or to indicate your interest. Continue reading for all the latest updates from the capitol(s)!

Photo: Libby Murphy, MHP Deputy Policy Director, with Rep. Alice Hausman (DFL- District 66A), chief author of the Homes for All bonding bill in the House

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10 Key Findings from Market Watch Minneapolis

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Created: Thursday, 15 March 2018 13:59

Written by Carolyn Szczepanski

Across the Twin Cities, the growing ranks of renter households are facing an increasingly challenging housing market with rising rents and declining vacancy rates. While developers are leveraging public and private resources to create new affordable units, current owners of unsubsidized rental properties have few tools to preserve and improve aging properties to maintain homes for current and future tenants. 

Building on its 2016 "Sold Out" report, Minnesota Housing Partnership is launching a new research series tracking key trends in the unsubsidized multi-family rental markets across the Twin Cities.

This first report, published in March 2018, analyzes data for approximately 50,000 unsubsidized rental units in properties with four or more units in Minneapolis from the CoStar database. Read the full report — and download graphics from our research.

Read more: 10 Key Findings from Market Watch Minneapolis

Minnesota Housing Tax Credit Contribution Fund: MHP champions innovative new tool to spur private investment in housing

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Created: Wednesday, 14 March 2018 15:16

Written by Laura Proescholdt

Since its inception in 2011, North Dakota's Housing Incentive Fund (HIF) has leveraged roughly $5 for every $1 invested, creating more than 2,500 units across the state. A proven tool to incentivize private investment and promote community and economic development, MHP is advancing a bill (H.F. 4072 | S.F. 3301) at the Minnesota Legislature to create the Minnesota Housing Tax Credit Contribution Fund, modeled after North Dakota's HIF.

The Minnesota Housing Tax Credit Contribution Fund will encourage local businesses and neighbors to invest in their community by creating housing opportunities. The program is capitalized by contributions from taxpayers that have state income, corporate, or insurance premium tax liabilities. In exchange for contributions to affordable housing, participating taxpayers receive credit against their state income tax liability equal to their contribution to a specific development or the general loan pool. The program relies on taxpayer support to provide low-cost financing to developers of affordable housing.

Advance the tax credit by signing our letter of support

Download the one-page overview

“This model is needed in Greater Minnesota,” says Skip Duchesneau, President of D.W. Jones, which develops affordable housing in 25 different communities across Central and Northern Minnesota. “We need straightforward, effective tools – like the Minnesota Tax Credit Contribution Fund – that allow local businesses to partner with developers to meet pressing local needs for affordable, workforce, and senior housing. The Tax Credit Contribution Fund would be an efficient state investment that leverages private, state, and federal resources to positively impact communities across the state.”

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"The Gap" in Affordable Housing in Minnesota

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Created: Tuesday, 13 March 2018 12:12

Written by Gabriela Norton

Today, the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) released The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Rental Homes, outlining both state and metro shortages in affordable homes, especially for low-income families. 

According to the report, which relies on 2016 ACS PUMS data, 43 percent of all renters in the Minneapolis - St. Paul - Bloomington metro area are cost burdened (paying more than 30 percent of their income on housing) and 22 percent are severely cost burdened (paying more than half of their income on housing). 

Those numbers are even more stark for extremely low-income (ELI) families. More than 107,500 households earn less than 30 percent of area median income (AMI), or less than $25,750 for a family of four. A striking 78 percent of households in this income bracket are cost-burdened, with 63 percent paying more than half of their income on housing. 

Read more: "The Gap" in Affordable Housing in Minnesota