Minneapolis leaders prepare for evictions despite state's new deal

Minneapolis and Hennepin County leaders are moving forward with initiatives designed to keep vulnerable renters in their homes, saying there's urgency even after the deal made at the State Capitol to phase out Gov. Tim Walz's statewide eviction ban.

Last week, lawmakers agreed to replace the eviction ban with an 105-day "off-ramp" that requires landlords to send a 15-day notice to tenants before filing for eviction for unpaid rent. Under the proposed agreement, tenants who have filed for rental assistance cannot be evicted before June 1, 2022.

"We are very concerned that there will be a large number of evictions, despite having so much money available for rental assistance," Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender said. "So we are doing everything we can under our local authority to prepare."

Since last spring, Minneapolis, St. Paul and a number of other cities have been working closely with Minnesota Housing and Hennepin County to help tenants pay back rent to prevent an eviction crisis. Tenants also have been requesting rental assistance on their own through the statewide RentHelpMN program.

But to expedite the process and improve access, Minneapolis and other local jurisdictions recently launched the "Zero Balance Project," a program for landlords and property managers to apply for rental assistance on behalf of tenants.

Julia Welle Ayres, manager of housing development and finance for Hennepin County, said they are pushing to shorten the wait time for people in dire emergencies using the Zero Balance program even though it normally takes at least 30 days for pandemic relief dollars to get out.

It's still unclear how many tenants are behind on rent, she said, and what the scale of evictions will be in Minneapolis.

"There are so many property managers that have just been really flexible and patient with their renters, and we just don't know when that sort of patience will run out," Welle Ayres said. "Fifteen days is a really, really fast turnaround for our programs, not something we're used to doing at all. But we've been doing this long enough, we have enough muscle memory, we have the right partners on board, and we are in a much better place to be able to help a lot of renters."

In late May, Minneapolis passed an ordinance that requires landlords to give tenants at least two weeks' written notice before filing an eviction complaint in court for unpaid rent. Minnesota law does not require landlords to give tenants any notice before filing an eviction complaint in court.

But unlike the state's proposed deal, the city's new law doesn't go as far as prohibiting landlords from evicting tenants who have filed for rental assistance.

The city said in recent years it has provided funding for legal services to hundreds of families facing eviction. More than 3,000 Minneapolis families are subject to eviction proceedings annually, most without legal representation, according to the city.

To prevent mass displacement after the state's temporary ban is lifted, council members last week introduced a "Right to Counsel" ordinance that would help low-income families facing eviction have access to an attorney. The council is advocating for using $300,000 in federal pandemic relief money to ramp up that effort this summer.

Cecil Smith, president of the Minnesota Multi Housing Association, a group representing property owners statewide, lauded the city's efforts to help tenants with financial hardship pay unpaid rent. Smith said the "small" challenges that exist can be managed with the state's rental assistance program and the Zero Balance Project.

The association said landlords normally collect about 97% or 98% of the rent by month's end, but during COVID that number fell by three percentage points.

"I don't see a crisis," Smith said, noting that the association was not ready to release internal data on the number of evictions coming. "I don't think [the state's proposed deal] is even necessary given all the current data that we have. We just need to manage our way through this."

Eric Hauge, executive director of HOME Line, a nonprofit that provides legal advice to tenants, said he's worried that if the proposed deal becomes law, some landlords who are frustrated with the state's program might decide to not renew tenants' leases — which is currently prohibited under Walz's moratorium.

"There still is uncertainty with the bill," Hauge said. "It's good that the city of Minneapolis implemented a notice requirement."

Faiza Mahamud • 612-673-4203