2026 Legislative Agenda
(Downloadable PDF copy here. Note: updated 3/9/26—additional legislative proposals may be added to this agenda.)
HOME Line is a nonprofit tenant advocacy organization providing Minnesota renters free and confidential legal advice. Since opening in 1992, we have advised over 357,000 renter households. HOME Line closed 2025 with the highest volume of renter contacts in its history, handling 20,241 new contacts from all 87 Minnesota counties Because we work directly with so many renter households, we have a unique insight into the issues facing many Minnesotan tenants and the policy fixes that will help them thrive.
Legislation which HOME Line will lead on:
- Secure funding for a statewide tenant hotline and education service. (SF672/HF1385) Advocate that Minnesota Housing appropriate funds to support a statewide tenant hotline and education service so that renters can seek legal help regarding any tenant-landlord issues regardless of income.
- Minors should not be listed as lease parties or defendants. (SF4145/HF3639) For example, minors should not have eviction actions filed against them when their parents cannot pay the rent and have an eviction action filed against them.
- Prospective tenants should have the right to view the actual apartment they would be renting prior to signing the lease. (SF3565/HF3640) Tenants are often shown model units that are in ideal condition, whereas the unit they could be renting may have issues or damages which they should have the right to know about beforehand.
Legislation which HOME Line will work with coalition partners on:
- Enact a statewide eviction moratorium paired with adequate emergency rental assistance to address the impacts of Operation Metro Surge and help tenants and landlords stay whole.
- Governor Walz should immediately enact via executive order a minimum 3-month moratorium on evictions, lease terminations, and lease nonrenewals—with similar criteria to the executive orders enacted during the pandemic. The pause should remain in effect as long as ICE and federal agents’ increased operations continue.
- The legislature should immediately pass emergency rental assistance at the highest amount possible (SF3596/HF3403) to keep both renters and landlords whole, including coverage of back rent.
- Secure statewide just cause eviction protections. (SF1671/HF997) Safeguard tenants from extremely fragile leases by prescribing that landlords cannot issue notices terminating tenancies or refuse to renew leases unless they can provide just cause for doing so.
- Guarantee statewide source of income protections. (SF2097/HF2021) Clarify that the state’s civil rights law ensures landlords cannot refuse to rent to or otherwise discriminate against someone because they receive and use rental assistance to pay rent.
- Pass legislation putting the Minnesota constitutional amendment for housing on the ballot, dedicating predictable housing investments for homes Minnesotans can afford. (SF2621/HF3279) Pass legislation putting the Minnesota constitutional amendment for housing on the ballot to raise and dedicate funds to remove barriers to homeownership, make rental housing safe and affordable, and protect our vulnerable households and communities from displacement and homelessness.
- Secure an additional $35 million funding for rental assistance to prevent evictions and end housing instability and homelessness. (SF3614/HF4117)
- Absolve renters in tax-exempt affordable housing from property tax liability (legislation not yet introduced). The Alliance Housing court decision created the unintended consequence that renters living in affordable housing that obtains tax-exempt status can be held liable for property taxes. Under Minnesota law, the low-income tenants living in these tax-exempt properties could be held liable for property taxes directly as if they were the owners of their rented units. The Minnesota Supreme Court, in recognizing this dilemma, “the low-income tenants [could be taxed] directly as if they were the owners of their rented units” and this concern is “best addressed by the Legislature.”
Legislation which HOME Line supports:
- Increase pre-eviction notice period from 14 to 30 days. (SF3598/HF3424) This will provide households with extra time to secure rental assistance and negotiate with their landlords in order to stably housed.
- Ban the use of rent price-fixing algorithms (SF2087HF1142). Prohibit the use of software for collusion and artificially inflating rent prices, shielding renters from price gouging and encouraging fair competition.
- Decreasing the amount of time required to terminate a lease upon the death or infirmity of a tenant. (HF3981) Amending the laws which allow tenants to terminate their lease early upon death (Minn. Stat. 504B.265) and infirmity (Minn. Stat. 504B.266) of a tenant, so that less than two months’ notice is required to end the lease. This legislation would also allow for the early termination of leases upon the death of one tenant, rather than the death of all tenants — providing the opportunity for surviving tenants to agree to terminate the lease early or remain living in their home.
Questions? Contact HOME Line’s Public Policy Director, Michael Dahl.
For updates about this advocacy and information about how you can contribute to these efforts, sign up below for the HOME Line Connection newsletter!