Housing is Healthy Families

Housing is Children Thriving in School

Housing is Jobs and Economic Competitiveness

Housing is Diverse and Inclusive Communities

MHP, along with other housing champions, announced the necessity for transformative investments in housing in the 2022 legislative session. We are asking for $2 billion in 2022. $1 billion to create and save homes, which would build new rental and ownership homes for 8,000 families and ensure 10,000 families can remain in their homes. $1 billion to create access and opportunity to housing would ensure over 137,000 families have the rental assistance to afford safe, quality homes and expand homeownership to roughly 5,000 first generation homeowners. Learn more here and for more info contact Libby Murphy, MHP’s Director of Policy, at libby.murphy@mhponline.org.

Contact Key Legislators THIS WEEK!

Alice Hausman (66A, DFL)

Phone: 651-296-3824

Email: rep.alice.hausman@house.mn

Michael Howard (50A, DFL)
Phone: 651-296-7158
E-mail: rep.michael.howard@house.mn

Esther Agbaje (59B, DFL)
Phone: 651-296-8659
E-mail: rep.esther.agbaje@house.mn

Athena Hollins (66B, DFL)

Phone: 651-296-4224
E-mail: rep.athena.hollins@house.mn

Tama Theis (14A, R)
Phone: 651-296-6316
E-mail: rep.tama.theis@house.mn

Find MHP’s 2022 agenda here. 

In 2022, MHP is supporting bonding, general fund appropriations for NOAH, new development, especially resources that target the lowest income households, Bring it Home, and proposals to prepare homebuyers and provide down payment assistance to expand ownership, and smart tax policies like 4d. In partnership with our MN ERASE campaign partners, we are already leading efforts to secure additional resources for emergency rental assistance. We are also calling for investments to improve the condition of home so that fewer Minnesotans experience energy burden. And, we will continue to advocate for Source of Income Protections so that those with public assistance, like a Section 8 voucher, are not denied housing on the premise of their income.

RentHelpMN closed on January 28, 2022, with only three days' notice. Yet, Minnesotans continue to suffer from the ongoing pandemic in direct and indirect ways, and thousands still quality for and need emergency rental assistance to pay their rent bills and remain in their homes. We urge the Governor and Legislature to appropriate funds for emergency rental assistance to ensure housing stability for Minnesota families. Without continued funding, increasing numbers of Minnesotans will face displacement, eviction, and homelessness.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated housing insecurity for millions of households, especially for low-income households and people of color. The January 2022 data snapshot presents statewide indicators of projected need for emergency housing assistance. This data shapshot includes county-level data provided by the State of Minnesota relating to applications for Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) distributed by the program RentHelpMN. A complete copy of data, in excel, is provided here.

DEED's Main Street Economic Revitalization Funding program's  request for proposals (RFP) is open, and proposals are due by 4 p.m. on February 28, 2022. An information session, with details about eligibility and applying for funding, is now available.

Over 70 organizations joined MHP in a letter to Senator Amy Klobuchar and Senator Tina Smith, asking that they continue advocacy for housing investments in Build Back Better. President Biden’s strategy is to enact a scaled-back version of the BBB – focusing on just a few priorities – and to repackage the rest into separate bills. Anything repackaged into stand-alone bills would require support from all Senate Democrats and at least 10 Senate Republicans, as well as separate floor time during an election year, ensuring virtually no chance of enactment this year. If housing is not included in the reconciliation bill, it will not be enacted this year.

"MHP has been instrumental in KOOTASCA's journey over the last 8 years to becoming an active developer of affordable housing in our rural community; their 2013 Housing Institute showed us how it was possible to develop affordable housing. Once we were ready to do it ourselves, their technical assistance and support allowed us to take that leap and make such a major investment- providing much needed legitimacy and reassurance for pursuing such a massive effort."--Issac Meyer, Housing Director at KCA

MHP and its contractors helped build the internal capacity of the Housing Department of Kootasca Community Action (KCA) to undertake the adaptive reuse of a vacated 1914 public-school building on the National Historic Registry in the City of International Falls into 27 units of low-moderate income housing. KCA is a Rural Housing Development Organization serving the northern border region of the State of MN offering single-family housing development, energy assistance, homebuyer education, home repair and rehabilitation and weatherization services.

Due to the remote location of the region, there are few housing developers in the area and even fewer willing to take on affordable housing development. Through its engagement with MHP, KCA decided to expand its capacity to become an affordable housing developer for the region. The technical and financial assistance provided to KCA resulted in applications to the State housing finance agency for funding. The State Housing Authority has just announced LIHTC funding for the Alexander Baker project!

The Community Development Associate is responsible for providing support to the Community Development team in planning, coordinating, delivering and reporting on capacity building and technical assistance engagements and MHP-funded grant programs.  Read more here.

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