Lt. Gov. Flanagan, Gov. Walz, Rhonda Otteson of MN Coalition for the Homeless and Homes for All, and members of the State Cabinet gather in Roseville, MN to unveil part of the Governor's proposed budget. 

Walz Administration Announces Housing Funding in Proposed Budget

On Monday, Governor Walz unveiled the health, housing and safety portion of his One Minnesota Budget. Walz proposes investing $1.5B for housing stability programs across multiple agencies, including Minnesota Housing, Health and Human Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Corrections. Of the $1.5B, roughly $1B would be invested in programs at Minnesota Housing this year. It includes:

Funding to Create More Homes and Save the Homes We Have

• $100M for housing infrastructure

• $100M Challenge Fund, which can create or rehabilitate ownership or rental housing

• $100M for Community Stabilization: to acquire and rehab multi- and single-family naturally occurring affordable homes (NOAH) 

• $40M for the Greater Minnesota Workforce Housing Program

• $35M Workforce and Affordable Homeownership Development Program, for new construction and acquisition, rehabilitation, resale of single-family homes

• $25M for the Manufactured Home Community Redevelopment Program 

• $20M in Public Housing Rehabilitation Program, to finance home improvements that affect the safety, habitability, energy efficiency, and accessibility of homes. 

Funding to Provide Access to and Opportunity for Home

• $128M this biennium and $8M ongoing starting in the next for down payment assistance

• $100M this biennium and $8.5M next biennium for the Family Homeless Prevention and Assistance Program

• $20M to Strengthen Supportive Housing - i.e. affordable rental housing that includes services which support residents in improving their quality of life

• $11.5M Capacity Building Program to fund activities that build the capacity of organizations and communities to address root causes of housing challenges 

• $10M this biennium and next for rental assistance for persons with severe mental disabilities via Bridges   

• $10M this biennium and next for rental assistance via the Housing Trust Fund

• $5M this biennium and next for rental assistance via Homework Starts with Home

• $2M Homeownership Education, Counseling, and Training (HECAT) program.

*Each bullet point assumes funding this biennium (FY24-25) unless otherwise noted. These items do not include bonding.

Action Alert! Call the Governor and Lawmakers Today for Immediate Emergency Rental Assistance Funds

MHP and the MN ERASE Campaign urge Minnesota lawmakers to immediately pass funding for emergency rental assistance. Eviction filings remain at pre-pandemic levels while nearly all emergency rental assistance funds across the state have been completely exhausted. The Legislature can and must act quickly to prevent homelessness and evictions by keeping families stably housed and must support housing providers who depend on rent to operate safe, quality, and affordable housing. 

Source of Income Protections Bill H.F. 445 Heard in the Housing Committee

States with SOI Laws (light green=limited)

Legal discrimination against renters paying a portion of their rent with public assistance means not everyone can use essential programs like Housing Choice Vouchers. Often, source of income (SOI) discrimination is a proxy for discrimination based on other protected classes such as race, disability, or familial status. Bill H.F. 445 stipulates that a slight modification to the Human Rights Act, clarifying

that housing discrimination based on a person’s source of income is illegal, would help those with housing assistance best utilize it, providing one path to reducing barriers and increasing access. This bill was heard in the Housing Finance and Policy committee this week, where MHP presented a letter with nearly two dozen organizations' endorsements.

REMINDER: Apply Now for the 2023 Housing Tax Credit!

Minnesota Housing is now accepting applications for Round 2 of the 2023 Housing Tax Credit (HTC) Program. The agency has announced $81,180 in HTCs is currently available. The Housing Tax Credits webpage  will be updated if additional HTCs become available. Applications are due Friday, February 24, 2023.

Join the Campaign for Housing on the Ballot!

Our Future Starts at Home is a statewide housing campaign for a constitutional amendment for housing. The goal is to ensure the state is making the investments Minnesotans need in housing, and to secure sustainable, predictable, and ongoing funding and structurally change our housing system - so we all have a place to call home. Our campaign principles include race equity, sustainability and climate resilience, uplifting rural voices, and accessibility. 

Read more about the policy proposal here, follow us at @Ourhomesmn, and endorse the constitutional amendment for housing, letting us know how you’d like to be involved! 

HUD Announces New Proposed "Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing" Rule

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would make changes to the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule. The AFFH requires HUD grantees to take meaningful steps to affirmatively further the Act’s objectives, such as taking proactive steps to address patterns of discrimination and segregation.  

In 2015, HUD established a process in which grantees had to conduct an extensive analysis of local fair housing concerns, commit to specific actions to remedy them, and then submit their plan to HUD for review. This rule was rescinded by the Trump Administration in 2020 before being partially reinstated by the Biden Administration in 2021. The proposed rule will be open for public comment once it is officially published in the Federal Register. 

Biden-Harris Administration Releases Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights

The White House has just announced new actions to protect renters and promote rental affordability, as well as a Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights. The blueprint outlines 5 principles for renter protections, including ensuring: access to safe, quality, accessible, and affordable housing; clear and fair leases; enforcement of renter rights and protection from unlawful discrimination; the right to organize without obstruction or harassment from landlords; and eviction prevention, diversion, and relief. Among the new actions are:

• The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) will launch a public process to look at proposed protections and anti-rent gouging measures for new federally-backed mortgages;

• The administration will hold quarterly meetings with renters and advocates, and launch a Resident-Centered Housing Challenge, a call to action to housing providers and other stakeholders to commit to renter protections;
• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will collect information to identify unfair practices that prevent tenants from accessing or staying in housing, informing each agency’s enforcement actions.

MHP Begins Collaboration with Leech Lake Financial Services