Frequently Asked Questions

Over 550,000 people in Minnesota pay too much of their income toward rent. When a family is struggling to keep their home, it impacts their work, their children, their health, and the entire community. We need a solution as big as the problem.

Yes! In 2023, that bill passed thanks to the hard work of the housing committee, championed by Rep. Michael Howard and Sen. Zaynab Mohamed. They introduced legislation (HF11/SF11) to fund rental support for all Minnesotans who qualify. This followed introduction of a bill in 2021 by Rep. Howard and Sen. Kari Dziedzic. The Bring it Home, Minnesota campaign is working closely with Rep. Howard, Sen. Mohamed, leadership, and members in the legislature to pass this transformational bill.
However, despite the passing of Bring it Home, Minnesota into law, the program does not have enough funding to meet the entire need. That’s why we’re continuing to advocate until the program receives full funding.

The new Bring it Home, Minnesota rental assistance program provides rent vouchers for eligible low-income Minnesotans, so they only pay 30% of their income toward rent. When rent is more manageable, budgets stretch further so kids have enough to eat and seniors can afford life-saving medications.

A rent voucher is a simple, cost-effective solution for housing stability. When a family qualifies, they receive a housing voucher that allows them to find a private market apartment that meets their needs. After they find the apartment, the voucher covers the difference between the 30% of the family’s income and the market-rate cost of rent for the apartment.

Housing instability, when households are paying over 30% of their income toward rent, is a major crisis facing our state and country. In most Minnesota counties, one in seven renters is paying more than half of their income toward home every single month. Rent vouchers are proven to be the most effective policy to help with housing instability. Studies have shown that the federal rent voucher program, known as Section 8 or Housing Choice Vouchers, has been the most effective government program to move people out of poverty other than Social Security. We need solutions for other housing issues as well, like more capital for homes for the lowest income households and policies that work to address the equity gap in homeownership, but those will not directly address the housing instability crisis as powerfully as rent vouchers.

Any household in Minnesota that earns less than 50% of the Area Median Income (AMI) and who pays more than 30% of their income toward rent is eligible. The AMI is calculated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for each region. In the Twin Cities metro, 50% of AMI for a family of four is $51,700.

Every area of Minnesota is covered by a city, county, or regional housing authority. These housing authorities administer federal housing programs and are the local housing experts. They administer the Minnesota rent voucher program and are allowed local control to make the program fit the needs of their community.

General rent vouchers help Minnesota move closer to racial equity. One in three Black and Native households pay over 30% of their income toward rent, compared to one in five white households. An investment in housing stability is an investment in racial equity. We know we need bold solutions to address the wealth gap and racial disparity in homeownership, and we believe making sure everyone can afford their rental home is the first step toward equity. When a family or individual is only spending 30% of their income on rent, they can better afford to save up to become homeowners.

Minnesota's housing affordability crisis is currently costing renters, cities, the state, and our economy billions every year. The fiscal note on the bill says the cost to cover all low-income renters in Minnesota is $2 billion a year. This is about 4% of the Minnesota state budget. Minnesota currently spends less than .05% of the state budget on housing.

We believe that it is a fundamental investment to make sure all Minnesotans can pay for their home and that as a state we can afford this investment. In 2023, the housing committee passed a metro-wide sales tax to help fund housing efforts across the Twin Cities. This tax will partially help to fund Bring it Home, Minnesota. We are excited to work with legislators to figure out how to grow the housing budget and create the resources for this bill.

Rent vouchers help families living in the private rental market, most of whom already have homes yet pay too much of their income toward rent. The local housing authority will only allow a family to use their voucher with a landlord who agrees to charge Fair Market Rent (FMR). FMR is calculated by HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) for each region from the current rents being charged in the area. HUD then names what a standard rent should be for each region and apartment size. This will be a win-win for tenants and landlords because tenants can receive rent support and landlords are guaranteed that rent.

While it is true, in some areas, landlords have preferred not to take Federal rent vouchers through Section 8, this experience is not universal. Many families on newer rental assistance programs have not had this challenge. Legislators and organizations supporting Bring it Home, Minnesota are open to learning from landlords what makes a rental assistance program more successful.

Rent vouchers help families living in the private rental market, most of whom already have homes yet pay too much of their income toward rent. We cannot rely on new housing construction alone to get us out of the housing affordability crisis. We can support policies to build more homes and support renters paying too much right now.