Where we live impacts every aspect of our lives. Where we call home affects the groceries we buy, where we send our kids to school, and how we thrive in our community. At every stage of life, where we live is the foundation for our health, education, safety, and economic wellbeing.

But in communities across the state, there isn’t enough affordable housing. This leaves few options for Minnesotans struggling to make ends meet.

Housing instability threatens individuals, families, and students. More than 1 in 4 households in Minnesota are housing cost-burdened, an increase of more than 70% since 2000. More than half of Minnesotans experiencing homelessness are children and youth, with nearly 9,500 public school students identified as homeless or highly mobile during the 2015-16 school year.

Minnesota will thrive when everyone has a place to call home. Our legislative proposal strengthens Minnesota’s Housing Continuum, in every corner of the state.

Download one-pagers on our:

- Legislative agenda

- Bonding ask 

- Endorsing organizations (Map)

Homes for All bills:

Bonding: S.F. 2939 | H.F. 3125

MHFA appropriations: S.F. 3238 | H.F. 3474

DHS appropriations: S.F. 3175 | H.F. 3402

2018 Homes for All Legislative Request

$150 million to provide Minnesotans with safe, stable and affordable housing

$140 million to build and preserve affordable housing including 

• $110 million in Housing Infrastructure Bonds (HIB) to create supportive rental housing, preserve housing with existing federal investments, and promote homeownership through community land trusts;
  • including senior and manufactured housing as eligible uses
• $30 million in General Obligation (GO) Bonds to make improvements to the state's public housing.

An additional $10 million in the state budget to prevent and end homelessness and promote affordable housing including

• $2 million in matching funds for communities that create and resource a Local Housing Trust Fund;
• $2 million for Homework Starts at Home to support students of homeless and highly mobile families;
• $6 million in investments to prevent homelessness through rental assistance, including
  • $2 million for Bridges,
  • $2 million for Housing with Supportive Services,
  • $2 million for Group Residential Housing;
• $180,000 to reinstate the renters credit to manufactured homeowners in resident-owned communities;
• Investment in the Workforce Homeownership Program, which seeks to double workforce homeownership opportunities in Minnesota.

Homes for All will also advocate for the following key agreements of the tax-exempt bond allocation committee:

• projects using bonds for 55% of costs or less are funded first;
• increased priority for projects with deeper affordability, longer term, and located in counties with lower average incomes;
• random selection for qualified competitors fully funds those selected;
• senior projects compete based on revised priority list, and Section 8 applicability for preservation is clear;
• firm 18-month limit on closing, and increased refundable deposits.

2018 Homes for All Support Agenda

Homes for All also supports proposals to

• create a state housing tax credit to bolster affordable housing development;
• strengthen lead paint disclosure laws to ensure renters can access healthy dwellings;
• address tax increment financing (TIF) laws so that pooled increment has limits on a cumulative basis, rather than on an annual and cumulative basis.

Download the 2018 Homes for All bonding request one-pager.

Photo from the 2017 Homes for All Rally at the Minnesota State Capitol