Minneapolis plans to launch a second emergency rental assistance program in April, aiming to help residents catch up on their payments before a temporary eviction ban expires.
Federal pandemic aid should allow Minneapolis to provide more assistance than it did last year, when the city didn't have enough funding to help everyone who needed money during the coronavirus pandemic.
"We do anticipate that we will be able to meet a lot of the need that is out there," Katie Topinka, the city's housing policy coordinator, told City Council members during a public meeting Tuesday afternoon.
The city wants to pay for it by drawing on an estimated $22 million to $24 million from federal COVID relief packages passed in December and March.
To qualify, people will need to prove that they are renting in Minneapolis, have experienced a financial hardship because of the pandemic, and make 80% or less of the area median income. In Minneapolis, the cutoff is roughly $80,000 for a family of four.
It's too early to know for sure how many Minneapolis residents might qualify for the program. The city estimates that nearly 58,000 renter households meet the income requirements.
The money can be used to cover past or upcoming rent and utility bills. Topinka did not specify the amount of the payments but said a similar program launched at the county level gave an average payment of roughly $4,000.
Topinka estimated the first round of city funding could help about 2,500 households, and officials are waiting to hear more from the federal government to pinpoint the precise amount of money they will receive in the latest round.
