Tenant Protections: Protect tenants’ rights, improve living conditions in rental housing, and ensure renters can fully participate in community life.
THIS POLICY SUPPORTS GOALS:
THIS POLICY RELATES TO TOPICS:
In Minneapolis nearly 51 percent of residents rent their housing. Renters in Minneapolis are also more likely to be people of color and indigenous people. Increased rents, decreased or stagnant incomes and the loss of affordable housing units have challenged many residents in their search for affordable housing, and have put many renters at risk of living in housing that may not be decent, affordable, healthy or safe. These factors also put renters at greater risk of eviction, which exacerbates housing instability.
Ensuring long-term housing stability is essential to the success of the city and its residents. This requires investments in rental housing quality, affordability, and access. In addition, investments in resident's ability to protect their civil rights aids in their ability to overcome housing barriers by improving access to safe, decent, and affordable housing; supporting their ability to participate fully in community life.
The City is actively working to strengthen protections for tenants. There are barriers under state statute to certain types of tenant protection initiatives. However, the City will continue to engage with stakeholders to determine how tenant protections can be enhanced at the local level.
ACTION STEPS
The City will seek to accomplish the following action steps to protect tenants’ rights, improve living conditions in rental housing, and ensure renters can fully participate in community life.
- Emphasize the value and contributions of renters to the City and communities.
- Focus City policies and resources on equitably promoting the ability of tenants to secure and maintain stable housing, including increased City participation in Tenant Remedies Actions.
- Ensure tenants and landlords are aware of their rights in their native language by providing materials in commonly spoken languages of Minneapolis residents.
- Provide funding to community-based organizations that proactively help tenants understand and enforce their rights, and assist financially with emergency housing relocation.
- Identify and implement policy, financial, regulatory, and other incentives and disincentives that reduce evictions, support source of income protection, and expand tenant protections.
- Create incentives to increase landlord participation in rental assistance programs and other initiatives to serve tenants with the greatest barriers to securing housing.
- Ensure rental housing is well-maintained, healthy, and safe through proactive policies and programs for property owners and managers, including trainings and maintenance resources.
- Continue to investigate and address tenants’ livability, health, and safety concerns.