Overview of Organization and Position
HOME Line is a non-profit, non-partisan, statewide tenant advocacy organization with over three decades of experience providing free legal advice, education, and organizing support to renters. HOME Line’s free and confidential tenant hotline has advised over 357,000 renter households throughout the state since 1992, and currently averages around 1,700 new client households per month.
HOME Line is seeking applicants for a Housing Attorney position. This position is part-time with flexible scheduling of up to 30 hours/week. A HOME Line part-time housing attorney will advise and assist tenants throughout the State of Minnesota with their legal housing challenges. This employee will receive on-the-job education and training on Minnesota Tenant/Landlord Law and in turn use these skills to assist renters. The position will be supervised directly by HOME Line’s Managing Attorney and work alongside HOME Line’s staff, including other attorneys, advocates, interns, and volunteers.
The workplace consists of a typical office environment (HOME Line’s office is located just off of the METRO Blue Line in Bloomington), with full or hybrid work-from-home/in-office schedule opportunities available. Time spent on the computer/online is approximately 90%, with some in-person meeting/event opportunities. Reasonable accommodations available to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.
What makes HOME Line a great place to work?
- We are an organization and team passionate about ensuring that renters have safe, dignified, and affordable access to housing.
- We provide flexibility in how employees carry out their work.
- We are driven by values of equity and justice, and recognize that we are on a continuous path in learning how to live out these values better.
- We offer and facilitate mentorship and ongoing professional development opportunities.
What you’ll do:
Primary Responsibilities
- Provide assistance and legal advice to tenants through HOME Line’s tenant hotline and eviction prevention project. Perform data intake with clients and maintain client records.
- Prepare pro se clients for court and/or negotiations with landlords.
Secondary Responsibilities
- Assist in training and supporting staff and volunteers working on the tenant hotline.
- Keep informed on updates to tenant/landlord law and rental housing issues.
- Support HOME Line public education and landlord-tenant trainings. Be available to provide landlord-tenant law trainings to a variety of people including in-person and webinar trainings.
- Support broader organizing and advocacy efforts in collaboration with HOME Line tenant organizing, tenant hotline, research, public policy staff, volunteers, and interns.
- Support Co-Executive Directors in managing relevant grants. Ensure that required reports and other required data are complete and accurate and are submitted in a timely fashion.
Qualifications:
We seek candidates who are self-motivated, detail-oriented, and passionate about housing justice. Preferred candidates will have experience and strong skill sets in the following areas:
Essential:
- Admission to the Minnesota Bar, or eligibility for admission on motion without examination.
- Fluency in English required.
- Strong oral and written communication skills. Computer proficiency required.
Preferred:
- Ability to work with individuals from diverse economic, cultural, educational and social backgrounds. Demonstrated commitment working with and understanding of the issues important to urban, rural, low-income households, communities of color, immigrant communities, and other oppressed and/or vulnerable populations.
- Fluency in a second language—particularly Spanish, Somali, Hmong, or Karen—preferred but not required.
- Tenant/landlord law expertise is preferred but not required; experience in legal clinics or volunteering opportunities also considered. HOME Line will train the new hire on all aspects of the position and will help develop legal expertise on tenant rights and responsibilities.
- Experience preparing and performing trainings and facilitating collaborative/coalition legal and/or organizing efforts preferred. Comfortable speaking in front of groups and one-on-one.
Compensation: starting pay rate between $23 – $26 per hour (commensurate with experience). Part-time employees are eligible for some benefits including: paid time off, holidays, and more.
To apply: Please email cover letter and resume with Housing Attorney (PT) in the subject line to Office Manager Deb Riebel: debr@homelinemn.org. References will be required for position finalists. Positions are open until filled.
HOME Line is committed to fostering an organizational culture that is welcoming and inclusive to all. We strongly encourage applications from members of BIPOC communities, immigrants and refugees, LGBTQ+ individuals and people with disabilities.