Opinion: Senior renters are struggling; problems at Bii Di Gain are the tip of the iceberg

On May 1, protesters and residents rallied at Bii Di Gain Dash Anwebi in south Minneapolis to draw attention to the poor living conditions and lack of maintenance at the affordable housing complex. The unfortunate reality is that these elders are not the only seniors struggling to feel safe and secure in their homes.

I am an AmeriCorps VISTA member, working as a tenant organizer with Home Line and the Minnesota Housing Partnership (MHP). I have spent a significant amount of time organizing with renters in buildings either marketed or designated for seniors, and it has become clear to me that we need to work together to find new solutions for senior renters, the majority of whom are dealing with housing instability.

According to MHP’s recently released 2024 State of the State’s Housing Profile , 66% of all senior renters in Minnesota are cost-burdened, i.e., that they pay more than 30% of their monthly income towards rent. Cost-burdened families face the tough choice between paying for their housing and other basic needs like food and medicine. The number of seniors burdened by unaffordable rent has increased as rents continue to rise. Today there are over 75,000 cost-burdened seniors in Minnesota, an increase of 12,000 from two years ago.

That same MHP report demonstrates that senior renters are disproportionately cost burdened at a rate 16% higher than the average Minnesotan. Many of the senior renters I talk to are retired, with Social Security as their sole source of income. Some are losing 60% to 70% of their checks just to keep a roof over their heads. Housing is such an essential human need that seniors will prioritize rent and choose to ration food instead. As a result, it is common to find small tenant-organized food pantries in supposedly “affordable” senior apartment buildings. Senior tenants see their neighbors go hungry to cover the rent, so they pool their resources to help one another.

While some seniors go hungry, others are forced out of retirement to pay their rent or face eviction. Katherine Banbury, tenant organizer and resident at the Cambric Senior Apartments in St. Paul, described watching her senior neighbors being evicted: “It’s a revolving door. You get in the building, but rent doesn’t stay affordable. People are either priced out of the building or evicted. We had 70- to 80-year-old women with nowhere to go living on our couches, but that wasn’t sustainable. After volunteering for a year, I knew I had to get a job working to organize these tenants.” According to the Eviction Lab, the number of eviction filings in the state of Minnesota are 44% higher than the average before COVID and have increased 8% in the last year alone. Such stories are becoming increasingly common.

We are already failing to meet the needs of senior renters, and this need is only going to increase. In 2010 Minnesota had a ratio of one retired adult for every five in the workforce, according to Minnesota Compass. By 2030, this ratio is expected to shrink to one older adult per three who are working age.

Our senior housing problem is made worse by Minnesota’s racial homeownership gap, the fourth largest in the nation. According to Minnesota Housing’s 2022 Disparities Report , the rate for white/non-Latino households was 77.3%, and just 48.6% for BIPOC households. This disparity has a compounding effect over time as homeownership is an essential vehicle for both generational wealth and housing affordability. Minnesota’s racial homeownership gap is a systematic problem that ensures senior renters of color bear an undue burden of precarity.

Jean Flores, a resident at the Legends of Spring Lake Park senior apartments, described the stress of worrying about how to cover bills each month: “Because I worked my entire life, I expected life to be easier at this age, and not to be worrying about whether I will have a place to live. I just want a peaceful life, but I feel so vulnerable which makes me sad and afraid.”

Whether we’re digging each other out of the snow or sharing a meal, Minnesota is a place where we look out for each other.  Let’s make sure that seniors, whether our loved ones or complete strangers, have a safe place to lay their heads at night and age with dignity.

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