Check out the Minnesota Housing Partnership‘s recently released 2×4 Report, which notes that: [The] Twin Cities rental market vacancies continued upward—to the highest in over six years, likely due to families doubling up to save on rent.”
The Star Tribune covered the report and the phenomenon of “shacking up” in today’s article, “Would-be renters forced to live with family, friends.”
In the article Matt Eichenlaub, a HOME Line attorney, talks about the difficult option of doubling-up. He notes that ‘the shack-up factor is probably masking the true number of families who have lost their homes … Renting when you have poor credit and an eviction on your record is very difficult. But, mostly, people don’t wind up living on the street. It’s not easy moving in with family.
As he puts it: I like my brother but I don’t think I’d want to live with him anymore.
In other news, be sure to check out the HOME Line Public Policy Blog later today for an update on the Renters’ Credit. The Minnesota House and Senate passed Tax Bills restoring the Renters’ Credit in 2011, but negotiations with Governor Pawlenty and the looming Supreme Court case regarding unallotment could be game-changers.
