Today, Minnesota Housing announced a deadline for new applications and re-applications to the COVID-19 emergency rental assistance program through RentHelpMN: Friday January 28th at 9:00 p.m. Further, incomplete applications will be considered withdrawn at that time. We strongly urge tenants throughout the state and our clients who are behind on rent to apply at RentHelpMN.org immediately, and/or contact 2-1-1 for assistance in completing an application. This statewide program has helped maintain housing stability for over 45,000 renter households during a tumultuous time.
The timing of this new deadline and the minimal advance notice is alarming, given that the Minnesota State Legislature is not yet in session and the pandemic-related eviction protections that rely on the program remain in effect until June. Last year, the Legislature enacted a phaseout law that promised renter households they would be protected from eviction for non-payment of rent until June 1, 2022, as long as they had an application pending at RentHelpMN or similarly-funded local programs. Now, after several months of greatly increased applications, demonstrating the clearly extreme need for more rental assistance and housing subsidies in our state, RentHelpMN is closing their application system due to concerns over the lack of remaining funding available for the program. This is unacceptable.
Struggling Minnesota tenants still need more emergency rental assistance, now and into the foreseeable future, as the impacts of the pandemic continue to harm our communities. Each day our statewide tenant hotline advises over a hundred renter households inquiring about issues impacting their housing stability—evictions, lease termination or nonrenewal, questions about lease issues/notices, and financial assistance. The pandemic is still forcing Minnesotans to stay home from work for many reasons—whether it’s a temporary job gap, reduced hours due to health concerns, or staying home to assist children who are learning remotely.
With RentHelpMN going away, are we going to see the Legislature play brinkmanship for months while evictions and displacement surge? We call on the Governor and the Minnesota Legislature to address this issue immediately by appropriating additional funds for statewide COVID-19 emergency rental assistance and amending the phaseout law as appropriate to retain and strengthen eviction protections, while implementing and adequately funding a universal rental housing subsidy program to prevent future instability, displacement, and homelessness. We further call on Minnesota Housing to delay the recently announced RentHelpMN application deadline so tenants can retain some protection from eviction for non-payment of rent while these steps are taken.
If you are a renter in Minnesota and you have a legal question about your specific housing situation, please contact our free tenant hotline: 612-728-5767 or via email.