A needed investment in stable housing

Opinion editor's note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

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The Minnesota Legislature is wisely poised to allocate $1 billion in additional funding to housing programs — more than the state has ever devoted to such efforts. It's a smart investment to help thousands of Minnesotans find affordable, stable places to call home.

The House and Senate approved the measure this week, and Gov. Tim Walz is expected to sign it. The much-needed funding will be used for rental assistance, down-payment help for first-generation homeowners, homelessness prevention, and preserving and creating housing. The funding will come from the state's general fund, the budget surplus and a new metro sales tax. According to bill sponsors, increasing the housing supply will take about half of the $1 billion.

To help reduce often yearslong waits for federal Section 8 assistance, about 5,000 households each year will get rent vouchers because of the bill, according to a spokesperson for Bring it Home Minnesota, the campaign that advocated for rent aid. And the $150 million for homeowner assistance is expected to help 5,000 new homeowners.

"We have a shameful ownership gap between white households and Black households in Minnesota, and this will target that and be really helpful," Sen. Lindsey Port, DFL-Burnsville, said this week.

Tim Marx, counsel at Winthrop & Weinstine law firm and former state housing commissioner and Catholic Charities executive, told an editorial writer that the bill significantly increases the emphasis on housing issues. Before the approval, he and other housing advocates were concerned that there would be little or no assistance for nonprofit housing developers.

Now that this historic level of funding has been approved, it must be used effectively and well-monitored. Last year, the Office of the Legislative Auditor found that some housing support that came through the Department of Human Services, for example, needed more oversight.

This Star Tribune Editorial Board has long supported additional funding for housing because of the positive effects stable housing can create for individuals and families. As advocates have documented during the 2023 session, when safely housed children do better in school, adults can find jobs, health outcomes improve and the need for various social services can be reduced.

More than 1 in 7 renters in many Minnesota counties spend more than half their monthly income on housing; in some counties, it's as high as 56%. That means lower-income individuals, families and seniors often are forced to cut back on necessities such as medications, food and transportation.