Housing and Finance Policy Budget Headed to the Minnesota Senate

(KNSI) – House lawmakers Thursday approved the Housing and Finance Policy budget on a bipartisan vote of 72 to 59.

The legislation funds several initiatives and programs to help create more affordable housing and safe, stable housing.

Representative Michael Howard, the Housing Finance and Policy Committee vice-chair, is pleased the measure passed, saying the public health crisis will not be replaced by an eviction crisis. He added that the legislature has a “responsibility to ensure that our renters and landlords who have lost income due to no fault of their own, have an opportunity to catch up and get well.”

The bill includes an agreement on an eviction moratorium off-ramp to allow renters who have fallen behind on payments to stay in their homes while making whole landlords who are owed. The bill provides renters and landlords with the time to take advantage of federal housing assistance funds, with the off-ramp concluding 105 days after enactment. Landlords will be required to send a notice to renters with outstanding rent 15 days before eviction. In addition, renters with an outstanding rental assistance claim cannot be evicted and will have that protection until June 1st, 2022.

The bill also provides Minnesota Housing with $10 million in one-time funds for 2022 and 2022, along with $12 million in the tails to cover the debt service for $100 million in Housing Infrastructure Bonds.

The bill now moves on to the Senate.

Also Thursday, the Senate passed the $7.3 billion transportation bill, which now heads to Governor Tim Walz’s desk.

A handful of bills still need to be passed ahead of the July 1st deadline to stave off a government shutdown.

___