Last June, when protections for tenants seeking help from RentHelpMN expired, there was nothing to stop eviction actions from moving forward, even as financial hardships endured for many in the wake of the pandemic. Now, proposed legislation supported by housing advocates, including Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid (MMLA), could prevent eviction for non-payment of rent as long as the tenant has a pending application for rental assistance with a federal, state or local agency.

Mary Kaczorek, managing attorney with MMLA, told KSTP News, “COVID is still very real. You have people paying a ton of their income to their rent and they get COVID, a family member dies, or their car gets in a car accident, just one thing can change their whole situation. They fall behind in their rent and because these protections are not in place their landlord can file right away.”

The Minnesota Multi-Housing Association supports the concept of the proposed bill, but hopes that reasonable guidelines, particularly about time limits, are added so that both residents and property owners will benefit. Read more on KSTP.com.