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Today, Mayor Jacob Frey announced a $1 million investment in emergency rental assistance to help Minneapolis residents avoid eviction and stay in their homes, expanding one of the City’s most effective tools to prevent housing instability and homelessness. The $1 million builds on the $1 million the City already approved for rental assistance in early February.
The investment comes as many neighbors are navigating heightened uncertainty following recent federal immigration enforcement activity across the Twin Cities. The funding will expand emergency rental assistance, helping residents experiencing sudden financial hardship catch up on rent and remain stably housed.
If approved by the City Council, the City will distribute the funding through its partnership with Hennepin County, allowing assistance to reach renters faster and making it easier for residents to access help when they need it most. Additionally, these funds will not require an eviction filing for residents to access.
“Keeping people in their homes is the goal — and that’s exactly why we’re putting real dollars on the table today,” said Mayor Frey. “Stopping evictions may sound good, but experience from COVID shows it's not the answer: Rental assistance is. Getting help to families quickly is the most effective way to prevent eviction, and that’s exactly what this investment does.”
Mayor Frey also confirmed he is vetoing the recently passed eviction notice extension ordinance approved by the City Council, saying the policy could ultimately make housing instability worse and undermine Minneapolis’s progress as a national leader on affordable housing – progress that has helped keep rents relatively low.
Instead, Frey said the City will continue focusing on proven strategies that help renters stay in their homes while maintaining a stable housing market. The City will also continue monitoring housing data closely and reassess policies if conditions change.
Housing providers and nonprofit partners across Minneapolis voiced support for the additional rental assistance funding and concerns about eviction extensions and their potential impacts on renters.
Agate Housing and Services
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"I strongly support the additional funds to help people get caught up on rent,” said Rev. Kyle Hanson, Executive Director of Agate Housing and Services. “Non-profit partners have the ability to get that money out the door quickly. A moratorium only makes those funds harder to attain. We still have people in our shelter system who have significant monies owed from the pandemic, when similar actions were enacted.”
Catholic Charities Twin Cities
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“In this challenging and traumatic time for our community, it is incumbent upon us as a mission-driven nonprofit housing provider that serves those most in need to stand against policies that will harm the people we serve,” said Jamie Verbrugge, President and CEO of Catholic Charities Twin Cities. “We know that more time only creates more debt for our residents – the only solution to the crisis we are in is direct and rapid-response emergency rental assistance.”
Simpson Housing Services
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“Our mission is to house, support, and empower people impacted by homelessness in our community,” said Steve Horsfield, Executive Director of Simpson Housing Services. “This work puts us in partnership with occupants and operators of rental housing. Our experience shows us that policies that serve to defer or delay rent payments create long-term unintended consequences. As we work with families and individuals who are attempting to get into rental housing, one barrier we encounter is past due rent balances from the last eviction moratorium in Minnesota. We also work with a number of property owners who have been faced with increasing operating costs over the past few years; these partners cannot afford additional financial burdens that come with policies that serve to defer or delay rent collection. In addition to our supportive housing programming, where we work with 600 households across four counties, we have also supported some households in short-term financial crisis as a direct result of Operation Metro Surge. We most certainly support policy that makes rental assistance available to households that continue to lose income as a result of ICE activity in our community.”
Aeon
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“In Aeon’s experience providing housing to extremely low- and very low-income households, eviction extensions don’t solve the underlying problem,” said Laura Russ, Chief Real Estate Officer with Aeon. “In many cases, extra time simply allows unpaid rent to pile up, leaving residents with even more debt to overcome. For nonprofit housing providers like Aeon, that also means fewer resources to maintain buildings and support the people who live and work in them. What residents truly need is support that helps them catch up on rent and stay stably housed.”
Project for Pride in Living
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"Each year, Project for Pride in Living supports thousands of individuals and families in accessing affordable housing. Our experience has shown that early intervention — not delayed timelines — is what truly prevents renter displacement,” said Karla Henderson, President and CEO of Project for Pride in Living. “Extending the eviction notice period alone would cause delays that often leave families further behind on rent, limit the financial tools available to help them, and make eviction more difficult to prevent. We appreciate Mayor Frey’s commitment to keeping people housed. The additional $1 million in emergency assistance is an especially critical investment that will help stabilize individuals and families before a crisis becomes irreversible.”
Avivo
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“The recent Metro Surge created significant disruption and anxiety in many Minneapolis neighborhoods negatively impacting our housed and unhoused neighbors. Families and workers experienced lost income, businesses closed temporarily, and many residents faced the real fear of leaving their home, and difficult choices about how to remain safely housed. We appreciate the commitment from city leaders who are working to respond to these challenges and protect people in our community,” said Kelly Matter, President and CEO of Avivo. “From Avivo’s experience working alongside individuals and families who are striving to find affordable housing and remain stably housed, targeted rental assistance is an important and practical tool during moments like this. Direct assistance helps households recover from sudden disruptions without creating long-term housing instability and supports the housing providers who continue to serve our community. We look forward to continued collaboration in our City to ensure that residents most impacted by recent events receive the support they need.”
People Serving People
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“The additional $1 million the city is allocating to emergency rental assistance is an urgent and necessary first step to supporting those most marginalized and impacted by Operation Metro Surge,” said Hoang Murphy, President and CEO, People Serving People, Inc. “We will continue to work with the City to ensure the state provides additional resources to keep families housed.”
Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative
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"In response to the current crisis, we need solutions that stabilize households and strengthen the non-profits serving them,” said Chris LaTondresse, CEO and President of Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative. “We applaud the $1 million in emergency rental assistance as the most effective response.”
Recent data from Hennepin County and HOME Line suggest eviction pressures in Minneapolis remain below 2025 numbers:
Eviction filings
- Through Friday, Minneapolis recorded 982 eviction filings in 2026, compared to 1,040 during the same period in 2025 — a 5.5% decrease.
- January and February eviction filings are both down compared to the same months in 2025.
Emergency rent assistance inquiries
- Monthly average in the last two months of 2025: 755
- Monthly average in the first two months of 2026: 618
Emergency rent assistance applications
- Monthly average in the last two months of 2025: 254
- Monthly average in the first two months of 2026: 235
Rent collection
Data from the Minnesota Multi-Housing Association, covering 46,510 housing units, shows rent payment rates have remained stable during the first quarter of 2026:
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January 6, 2026: 91.6% of rent collected
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February 6, 2026: 91.6% of rent collected
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March 6, 2026: 91.5% of rent collected
“The data is clear that rent payments have remained stable on a year-over-year basis and through each month of the first quarter, despite recent events that affected many households,” said Cecil Smith, President and CEO of the Multi-Housing Association. “The generosity of neighbors helping neighbors across Minnesota has helped bridge the gap for those who have needs. Renters who are behind on rent are working with their housing providers through payment plans.”
Housing experts caution that broad eviction pauses can create uncertainty in the rental market and produce unintended consequences for renters. When eviction rules shift suddenly, housing providers may respond by tightening screening standards, increasing rents to offset risk, or pulling units from the market, reducing available housing and making it harder for renters to find a place to live.
While similar eviction moratorium proposals or extensions tied to immigration enforcement have been discussed in several U.S. cities, few jurisdictions have implemented them due to concerns about effectiveness and potential market disruption.
“I support the Mayor’s decision to veto this ordinance,” said Ward 4 Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw. “We heard directly from housing nonprofits and service providers on the front lines who warned that extending the eviction notice period would function as a debt trap for many renters. I trust and listen to the expertise of the people doing the work and dealing with the consequences firsthand, and their message is clear: families don’t need more time to fall behind on rent—they need real rental assistance to stay housed.”
“Our City is living through unprecedented times, and our most vulnerable residents are struggling to pay rent due to circumstances entirely out of their control," said Ward 11 Council Member Jamison Whiting. “While our neighbors, mutual aid networks, and local foundations have met this moment in inspiring ways, the City must do its part to prevent our hardest-hit families from slipping through the cracks. Directing an additional $1 million to Hennepin County for Emergency Rental Assistance is the most effective vehicle to meet this urgent need, keeping our at-risk neighbors securely housed while ensuring the long-term stability of our low-income and affordable housing ecosystem.”
"Our housing partners told us that the real need is more money, not more time,” said Ward 7 Council Member Elizabeth Shaffer. “Delaying evictions is a long runway to a deeper debt crisis while the need for rental assistance is now.”
“As our trusted development and service providers told us, a pause in eviction filing notice is counterproductive,” said Ward 13 Council Member Linea Palmisano. “It not only increases a debt load but follows someone around and impacts their ability to secure safe and stable housing in the future. Rental assistance is what we need in this moment, and that is exactly what is being proposed as an alternative.”
“Adding to the rental assistance fund is the common-sense way to help those affected by the ICE operation without financially hurting our non-profit housing operators and their clients,” said Ward 3 Council Member Michael Rainville.
Mayor Frey will continue to monitor the data, and if something substantially changes, work with the City Council and City leaders to find the best path forward to continue supporting Minneapolis neighbors.
According to Hennepin County data:
- Outside of a slight uptick in total emergency rent assistance inquiries in January 2026, the volume of inquiries so far in 2026 is generally consistent with that of the last couple of months in 2025.
- The number of emergency rent assistance inquiries from households who are eligible for County emergency rent assistance and related eviction prevention resources (e.g. legal representation), as evidenced by a corresponding trend in County emergency rent assistance applications, has slightly decreased so far in 2026 as compared against the end of 2025.
- The number of eviction filing so far in 2026 is consistent with the monthly average in 2025.
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