Minnesota housing advocates chalk up modest wins at the Legislature this year

Some of the most ambitious housing proposals before the Minnesota Legislature this year — including bills that would have curbed single-family zoning and discrimination against renters using Section 8 vouchers — died in committee this year.

But housing advocates still eked out some wins.

Some of the major housing laws passed during this year’s session focused on strengthening tenant protections, increasing funds to keep Minnesotans housed, and modernizing outdated laws on evictions.

The more modest changes came after a year when the Legislature made a historic investment in housing in Minnesota and passed many new laws that helped renters as well. This year’s list of new housing laws is not as long, but emphasizes the needs of vulnerable communities, such as survivors of domestic violence and undocumented renters.

Although lawmakers clashed at the end of the session in their efforts to pass several large bills, committee members in the House and Senate successfully advanced the tenants’ rights bill and a major supplemental budget bill that included housing, with a DFL majority pushing it through.

When the House passed the tenants’ rights bill last month , its lead author Representative Esther Agbaje, DFL-Minneapolis, said she expected that reconciling the differences of her bill and the Senate version wouldn’t be “contentious.” She added that together, legislators would create the “most robust tenants’ rights package that we can.”

Many of the new laws to protect renters are meant to codify “best practices” that landlords already follow, Agbaje said. Most of the bills will take effect January 1, 2025, and some begin August 1, 2024.

Right to organize

Tenants who live in a residential building will have the right to establish an association for addressing issues on living conditions. The association will be allowed to pass out flyers and hold meetings in the building. Landlords are prohibited from retaliating — including by increasing rent or filing legal action — against tenants after they seek remedies or organize. The penalty for a landlord violating this law is $1,000 and attorney fees upon each occurrence. This law goes into effect January 1, 2025.

“That’s a powerful place to come from – knowing that there are legal protections, hopefully will assuage enough fear of retaliation that they will be willing to speak up as part of a group,” said Rachael Sterling, a housing attorney who represents Home Line, a nonprofit that provides free and low-cost organizing, education, and advocacy services to renters.

Undocumented renters

A landlord must accept individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITIN) on rental applications. ITINs are issued by the IRS so people who aren’t eligible for a Social Security number can file taxes. The change makes it easier for undocumented immigrants to verify income or apply for leases.

This law goes into effect January 1, 2025.

Victims of violence

Some changes will affect the ability of landlords to evict victims of violence. Under the rule changes, a landlord will be prohibited from filing an eviction against a victim of violence if they terminate their lease early.

Another new law will eliminate the requirement for the victim of violence to meet in-person with a professional who offers supportive services in the process of terminating a lease early. Both laws will change existing laws and go into effect August 1, 2024.

“Our hope is that it will reduce this type of conflict either where landlords are refusing to accept the documentation, or they file the eviction afterwards,” said Ann McFarland, an attorney for Standpoint, a legal advocacy group that works with domestic abuse survivors. Standpoint is among the advocacy groups that pushed for the changes.

Disclosure on pet fees

If a tenant has a service or support animal that lives with them, a landlord must disclose the fee for the pet in the lease. The law will go into effect on January 1, 2025.

New construction delays

Landlords must provide an option for remedy to the tenant if the property owner cannot provide occupancy on the rental unit and the tenant has already signed a lease agreement.

The measure followed construction delays that left many University of Minnesota students without housing but locked into long-term leases before the start of fall semester in 2023. One of its strongest advocates was Minneapolis Council Member Robin Wonsley, who represents one of the neighborhoods affected.

The remedy must be provided within a week of the move-in date in the lease agreement. Remedies include offering renters an alternate unit that is similar in size, amenities and location; mitigating the cost of finding alternative housing until the unit is available; or terminating the lease and returning all money paid by the tenant.

This law will go into effect January 1, 2025.

Funding assistance

Several housing programs were awarded funding through bills that passed this year.

The Family Homelessness Prevention and Assistance Program (FHPAP) received about $8 million for next year. The program covers rental deposits, rent, and utility payments for Minnesotans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

The Wilder Park Association received a one-time $3.25 million to assist in major repairs for the Wilder Park Tower senior high-rise facility in St. Paul.

Some bills will fund studies on housing issues such as the emergency shelter needs of transgender adults and rent increases for seniors in affordable housing.

About $470,000 will help implement recommendations from a work group that aimed to expedite the process for Minnesotans applying and receiving emergency rental assistance. The work group was created last year by the state Legislature, and was composed of 13 individuals representing housing advocacy groups and state agencies.

“I’m more interested in finding pathways for folks to kind of get through those barriers on the front end, given how important and how critical every day is,” said Representative Michael Howard, DFL-Richfield. He was the lead House author of the bill to implement the work group’s recommendations.

Some recommendations include allowing electronic signatures for paperwork; allowing landlords to apply on behalf of the tenants; and translating the applications into different languages. State programs such as FHPAP and emergency assistance will implement these recommendations and explore ways applicants can self-attest for income verification.

“I do very much think of these as the start of the work to be done to make FHPAP the best that it could be,” said Rinal Ray, assistant commissioner at Minnesota Housing and a member of the work group. “We think there’s more work to be done in the future as well around funding for emergency rental assistance and implementation of the recommendations.”

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