Omnibus Housing Bill Passes Minnesota House

(KNSI) – The Minnesota House has approved the Omnibus Housing Bill, which would fund the creation of more affordable housing.

The bill passed on a vote of 69 to 62.

Housing Finance and Policy Committee Chair Representative Alice Hausman says that lawmakers have heard personal testimony from those struggling with housing issues for the entire session. She says those stories made an impression on every committee member. Advocates helped us craft a bill which will have a meaningful impact across the state, to help ensure everyone has a safe place to call home.”

She says the programs and policies contained in the bill make investments to close the homeownership gap, prevent displacement, to ensure evictions don’t unnecessarily block families from affordable housing opportunities for years, and to make sure homes are safe.”

The bill also includes language establishing the Lead Safe Grant Program, which would seek to test for and remove harmful chemicals from the paint in homes, focusing on areas where children especially are affected by lead poisoning, which typically occurs in houses that are over 100 years old.

“Time and again, we’ve seen Republican politicians pursue policies that would kick Minnesotans out of their homes and apartments to the streets during a global pandemic,” said Majority Leader Ryan Winkler.

St. Cloud Representative Tama Theis issued a statement on the passage of the bill, saying this is the wrong way to go for housing policy, adding that it “misses the mark.” Theis says, “At a time when we should be focused on policies that address the shortage of market-rate housing, the high cost of developing housing in our communities and making it easier for everyone to have a good place to live, we are instead removing the autonomy of housing providers and paving the way for more complex policies that will make it more difficult to operate homeless shelters. Most egregiously, this bill ignores the need for an off-ramp for the eviction moratorium, a bill that received a veto-proof majority in the Senate.”

The off-ramp would happen in a 30, 60, and 90 day step down:

30 days after the date of enactment, evictions are permitted for material violations of the lease other than non-payment of rent.
60 days after the date of enactment, evictions are permitted for those with outstanding rent but who are ineligible for rental assistance through the COVID-19 emergency rental assistance program.
90 days after enactment of the bill, this step-down expires, except for actions based on non-payment of rent against a tenant with a pending application for assistance through the COVID-19 emergency rental assistance program, which are prohibited until June 1, 2022. This allows renters who are enrolled in a relief program more time to get caught up with their rent.

If you’ve fallen behind in your rent, RentHelpMN has created COVID-19 emergency rental assistance. Learn more by clicking here.

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