Gov. Tim Walz has prohibited housing evictions during the COVID-19 stay-at-home order, but homelessness could surge once the moratorium is lifted and Minnesotans face a backlog of overdue rents.
Legislators in both parties want to prevent mass housing loss by boosting financial aid to help people pay their housing expenses. But they clashed Wednesday over how much help the state can afford to give.
State officials have repeatedly warned that Minnesota's anticipated budget surplus is quickly dwindling as tax revenue drops and pandemic expenses climb. Housing providers, advocates and Democrats say despite those losses the state must act in a big way by putting $100 million or more toward housing assistance — or risk worse economic devastation down the road. Republicans are proposing $30 million, with the possibility of an increase later.
A House committee on Wednesday advanced a DFL bill providing $100 million on a party-line vote; a Senate committee took up a separate GOP bill providing $30 million but took no action.
The House and Senate bills both codify Walz's eviction prohibition into state law but have different dates for when that would end. Differences between the measures need to be ironed out ahead of final votes in the coming weeks.
Walz's temporary moratorium does not reduce what tenants owe landlords, and the administration has called on people to keep paying their rent if they can.
Hair salon owner Nicole Lyons said she makes a living client to client, relying on appointments to pay her bills. She has not earned a cent or been able to qualify for unemployment benefits since her business was forced to close in March. Without her family's financial help, Lyons said she and her three young daughters would be facing eviction from their St. Peter townhouse when Walz's order ends.
She fears for other families that don't have such help, and she believes $30 million would not scratch the surface of the need across the state.