Sam Stemper, Public Policy Intern

For 60 years HUD has played a vital role in making privately-0owned rental properties affordable to low income-tenants.  However, there concerns remain with regard to the lasting availability of rental units.  The Government Accountability Office validated these concerns in 2004, when they projected that 193,000 subsidized units will become market-rate housing in the next ten years.  Tenants in these properties could face higher rents or eviction.

Thankfully, some forward-thinking legislators are working to avoid this dire situation.  Earlier this week, the House Financial Services Committee passed H.R. 4868, the Housing Preservation and Tenant Protections Act of 2010.  This bill would:

• install incentives and resources for owners of currently subsidized properties
• provide grants and loans to housing sponsors that are working to preserve subsidized housing
• establish a marketplace (The Preservation Exchange Program) for potential purchasers who will keep the housing affordable
• give tenants living in subsidized properties stronger means to address poor upkeep
• authorize vouchers for tenants in properties that become market rate

What is especially exciting for Minnesotans is that Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN) played a key role in the hearing.  A member of the House Financial Service Committee and recipient of the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s 2010 Edward W. Brooke III Housing Leadership Award, Ellison filed an amendment that would grant tenants in subsidized housing stronger legal rights when issues arise over housing contracts.  Unfortunately, the amendment wasn’t offered in the bill that passed in committee, though Ellison and housing advocates alike hope to see the amendment added before the house floor proceeds with a vote.

The bill likely won’t make it to the House Floor until September, but you can rest assured that we will be keep you updated on its progress and encourage advocates across the state to contact their legislators in support of this bill.  Minnesota policymakers are influencing housing legislation every day, so it is essential that constituents make sure their voices are heard!

That’s right folks!  Calls from grassroots efforts across the nation and right here in Minnesota convinced the House of Representatives to increase HUD funding.

As NLIHC reports, your work not only lead to increased funding, it stopped several bad amendments from being offered and/or accepted.

What did we stop?

• A bad amendment to eliminate Veterans Affairs Supported Housing (VASH) voucher funding was not offered.
• A proposed amendment to cut Public Housing Capital funding by $455.8 million failed.
• And all amendments to cut HUD funding overall failed.

And this is just a sampling of what we accomplished yesterday.  Bravo!

Now, on to the Senate.

Julie in Congressman Ellison's District: I know Congressman Ellison is a leader on affordable housing. I let his office know this was another opportunity for him to "shine."

Today, Thursday, July 29, the full House of Representatives will take up its FY11 funding bill for Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (T-HUD).  The House bill – in it’s current form – would provide over $1 billion more to HUD programs than the President’s budget request.

Last night, the House Rules Committee accepted amendments that will be voted on today, including 8 amendments that would reduce funding for HUD programs and 4 amendments that would reduce overall funding of the entire bill.

Your immediate action is needed to prevent a reduction of funds to HUD programs.

Please call your Minnesota Representative today and urge him or her to:

1. Support the House bill which would provide over $1 billion more to HUD programs than the President’s budget request.
2. Oppose any negative amendments to reduce overall HUD funding or funding for specific HUD-programs.

Find out who represents you by visiting this link

This morning Minnesota Public Radio aired a report showing childhood poverty is on the rise in Minnesota.  According to figures released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation:

The poverty picture in Minnesota has two faces. Government statistics continue to show that Minnesota’s poverty rate is second lowest in the nation behind New Hampshire.  However, the numbers also show   Minnesota’s child poverty rate has increased by 23 percent from 2000.

In the report, the Childrens’ Defense Fund‘s executive director, Jim Koppel, talks about how poverty today is different poverty a couple generations ago:

Growing up in a lower-income family in Ohio, Koppel says he witnessed family and neighbors with little more than a high school education, sometimes less, moving out of poverty by landing low- and semi-skilled manufacturing jobs that paid something close to a living wage.  These days, Koppel says, getting out of poverty is a tall order due in part to the education and training needed to land a job.   “We don’t have the gradual slope where you can kind of take baby steps into the next economic level.”

Many primary elections for State Representatives will be decided by less than 1000 voters.  Yikes!  Minnesota’s August 10^th Primary Election gives you a chance to exercise a little political might.

For more information, visit the:

• Minnesota Secretary of State
• Minnesota Participation Project

Sam Stemper, Public Policy Intern

On June 13, 2010, HOME Line launched its official 2011 Tenant Bill of Rights poll. Intended to give Minnesotans the opportunity to tell HOME Line which issues they’d like to see us address next year, the poll was distributed electronically and through our Minnesota Tenants Alliance Newsletter. We are happy to report that the total number of ballots cast in support of stronger rights for Minnesota tenants has now passed 150!

While still working toward our goal of at least 500 poll respondents, it may be helpful to crunch some numbers to understand where advice is coming from and how it is informing our policy efforts.  (It is worth noting that each issue has been listed as a priority of at least 10% of the respondents.)  Here is the ranking of the issues thus far:

1. Right of Infirm Tenant to Break the Lease
2. Tenant Right to End Lease if Landlord Does Not Meet Contractual Obligations
3. Dedicated State Funding
4. Tenant Right to Pay and Deduct for Emergency Repair
5. Statewide Heat Code
6. Security Deposits
7. Mandatory Expungement
8. Duty to Mitigate
9. Section 8 Discrimination
10. Right to Organize With Neighbors For a Tenant Remedies Action
11. Reciprocity of Right to Cure
12. Discretionary Expungement
13. Protection from Retaliation
14. Hearing on Motion
15. Destroyed Court Files
16. Privacy
17. Opportunity to Purchase Property in Light of Section 8 Expiration or Termination

Minnesotans from all corners of the state have made their voices heard. Don’t believe me? Check out these maps! Each point represents one response in our 2011 Tenant Bill of Rights Poll.

Minnesota poll responses through July 21st.

Metro area poll responses through July 21st.

Taking this one step further, we can see that our survey respondents come from 43% of Minnesota House Districts and 64% of Minnesota Senate Districts.

Does it look like your community is covered?  Add your advice anyhow and tell your friends! Does it look like no one has responded from your community?  What are you waiting for? Cast your ballot in our 2011 Tenant Bill of Rights Poll right now!

When the Minnesota Legislature reconvenes on January 4^th, 2011, we’d like to see a map with pinpoints across Minnesota. Help make that happen today!



Congressman Barney Frank warns that the National Housing Trust Fund is in trouble because of concern for the deficit.  In related news, the Minnesota Housing Partnership released data showing the economic struggles of Minnesotans are intensifying and both the rental and home ownership market are becoming less friendly as a result.

Regarding the National Housing Trust Fund, Congress’ daily newspaper ‘The Hill’ reports:  “Deficit worries slow funding of Obama homeless programs.”

“If it wasn’t for the deficit concern it would have been over already,” Frank said of the legislation funding the trust fund.  “It’s important to have a decent low-income housing program to … act as an alternative for putting low-income people into homeownership, which they can’t afford. But obviously, the concern about the deficit is a major obstacle.”

And, as for Minnesota’s housing market, today’s Star-Tribune reports:  “Housing costs bleeding many Minnesotans.”

MHP examinedwages for five occupations, including teacher, registered nurse and retail salesperson, and found that for full-time workers, owning a median-priced home is affordable to all these occupations in only nine Minnesota counties, most of them in rural areas in the western part of the state. In none of the counties is renting a typical two-bedroom apartment affordable to all five occupations.

Hmmm.  Is there a connection between these two stories?

Feeling a little powerless?  To exercise a little political might and your civic duty, consider voting in Minnesota’s August 10^th Primary Election.

Sunday’s edition of the Star Tribune includes a story by Rachel Stassen-Berger:  “Big choice will be made by few voters:  An expected small turnout in August will give voters extra influence in the outcome.”

While I don’t want to celebrate low civic participation, the simple fact of the matter is that small groups of passionate voters will have considerable sway.  Ponder this fact from the Strib article:

One analysis shows that turnout may be so low that in a state of more than 5 million people, a nominee could be chosen with fewer than 100,000 votes — about the population of Rochester.

In fact, the article points out that while the Republican and Democratic winners could move on to the general election with as few as 100,000 votes, the Independence Party winner may be chosen by fewer than 8,000 voters.

Yikes!

Now consider that smaller races, those for individual state legislative offices, are also being held.  Many primary elections for State Representatives will be decided by less than 1000 voters.

Yikes again!

So, if you’re feeling powerless, the August 10^th Primary Election gives you a chance to exercise a little political might.

Now, you could be asking, “How do I do that?”

1. Vote.  To find out more details, check out this information from the Secretary of State’s Office.
2. Before the Primary, write a letter to the editor to your local paper asking all candidates to prioritize the issues you and your neighbors care about.
3. Also before the Primary, invite candidates to visit you and your neighbors.  Imagine this:  You could call Independence, Republican, and Democratic candidates to visit the apartment complex you live in.  Open the door for them, so they could door-knock your apartment complex for a night.  Better yet, consider sponsoring a small interview of all of the candidates (separately or together) in your apartment.  Invite your neighbors to attend.

HOME Line is excited to help tenants figure out how to do this, so contact us if you are interested.

Sheila Crowley, NLIHC

When last you heard from us, the U.S. Senate had adjourned for the 4^th of July recess without taking action on H.R. 4213, the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010 (the extender bill), which contains $1.065 billion for the National Housing Trust Fund and associated vouchers, and three important provisions on the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program.

The Senate voted three times on versions of the extender bill during June, failing each time to garner the 60 votes needed to move it forward. No concerns were raised regarding the National Housing Trust Fund. The opponents, all Republicans and Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE), objected to two things. The first was that some of the items in the bill, including extension of Unemployment Insurance (UI) and more Medicaid aid to the states, were classified as emergency spending and therefore not paid for (offset). The opponents want all spending to be paid for by cuts somewhere else. The second was that the elements of the bill that were offset, including the National Housing Trust Fund, would be paid for by closing several different tax loopholes, meaning some people would have to pay higher taxes.

As the June work session drew to a close, two elements of the extender bill were introduced as stand-alone measures. One, extension of UI, did not get 60 votes. The other, another extension of the homebuyer tax credit, was approved by both the Senate and the House, and enacted into law.

Now that the Senate has reconvened, the leadership is working to get all the elements of the bill passed this month, although it may be piecemeal. As of this writing, we understand that negotiations are underway with individual Republican Senators to reach the compromises needed to get to 60 votes to pass the extender bill WITH the National Housing Trust Fund and the Low Income Housing Tax Credit provisions included.

Contact Minnesota Senators to tell them how important the National Housing Trust Fund is.  Tell them you want action on the National Housing Trust Fund this month.

Senator Amy Klobuchar

202-224-3244

Senator Al Franken

202-224-5641

Learn more about the National Housing Trust Fund campaign at www.nhtf.org

Michael Dahl, Public Policy Director

To dig deeper into the issues presented in the 2011 Minnesota Tenant Bill of Rights poll, I will be using this blog over the next several weeks to describe some of the proposals.

Many of the proposals are pretty simple but use confusing legal terminology.  For example, consider the legal phrase duty to mitigate.  Let’s set a context with a story about Eric:

Eric has fallen on hard times.  He lost his job and is finding it hard to afford basic necessities.  He knows that before long he will fall behind on rent.  To cut back on expenses, he is considering moving back home with his parents.  However, he still has seven months left on his lease.

Eric’s landlord correctly informs him that he is still responsible for the monthly rent for the rest of the lease.  Eric asks if he can sublet, or take responsibility for finding a new tenant.  The landlord says, “No.  I am not willing to rent to just anyone you find.”  So Eric asks the landlord if he will try to rent to someone else.  The landlord hesitates.

Regardless, Eric moves out, hoping the landlord will try to re-rent the apartment.

Does Eric’s landlord have to make an attempt to find another tenant (that is, does the landlord have a duty to mitigate)?  The answer depends on what state Eric rents in.

Now, I need to give credit to one of my amazing interns, Emma Phillips,  for everything that follows.  Emma, who will soon enter her second year at the University of Minnesota Law School, is heading up the legal research this summer for what other states do regarding tenants’ rights.

Here is what she’s found out about this thing called duty to mitigate:  In Minnesota, Eric’s landlord would have no duty to mitigate — no duty to try to lessen the damages Eric could face.  However, in 42 other states landlords would have to at least have to make a minimal attempt to re-rent the apartment after Eric has left.

Mind you, the landlords in those other states aren’t obligated to actually find another tenant; they just have to try.  In most cases this means they have to advertise just as they would advertise for any other vacancies they have.

Why do so many other states require this?  The answer is pretty simple.  Almost every other type of legal contract is ruled by what is known as contract law doctrine.  One of the basic principles is that when a contract has been broken, the party that is not in violation of the contract still has a duty to try to lessen its damages. The other states figure, what’ good for one type of contract should be good for another.

Now, the states that require this provide landlords with some protections.  First, if the landlord decides to charge a different rent level, the courts generally hold that this is okay if it reflects changes in market value.  Second, any rent collected from a new tenant is paid first to cover the landlord’s expenses in re-renting the property.  Third, if the rent falls short of the amount the original tenant owes, that tenant is required to cover the difference.

So, Eric, right now you are out of luck.  But, if a landlord duty to mitigate passes the Minnesota Legislature, future “Erics” may at least have a chance at their old apartment going to someone who could use it.