Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature

$1 billion bonding request would open doors to affordable housing, advocates say

Stable housing is not about a roof over one’s head but a foundation on which to build a life, Mandy Pant told the House Capital Investment and House Housing Finance and Policy committees Monday.

Stable housing means better access to education, health care and support, said Pant, a manager with Project Pride in Living.

Lawmakers were told earlier this session the state is facing a housing crisis, and about 590,000 Minnesota households spend more than 30% of their income on housing. According to the Minnesota Housing Agency, the state is short 57,000 affordable units for extremely low-income renters.

There’s a massive supply and demand mismatch that must be addressed from the supply side, according to Rep. Michael Howard (DFL-Richfield).

“I say build, baby, build,” said Howard, who sponsors HF302, which would authorize $1 billion in bond sales by the Minnesota Housing Finance Authority for housing infrastructure.

This includes $750 million in housing infrastructure bonds – half issued in 2023 and half in 2024 – to finance housing projects; and $250 million in general obligation bonds with proceeds going to rehabilitate public housing projects.

The bill was heard on an informational basis, with the housing committee expected to address the $750 million portion and the capital investment committee to consider the $250 million general obligation bond portion.

Policy provisions in the bill include expanding eligible use of housing bonds to include not just loans, but grants on single-family home projects, and allowing people earning up to 50% of the area median income access to the financing. It would require multi-family projects to include accessible and sensory accessible units.

Housing bonds are near and dear to the Minnesota Housing Agency, said commissioner Jennifer Ho. Created in 2012, the bonds have helped build more than 6,400 affordable units since then.

Rep. Nolan West (R-Blaine) said privately owned manufactured housing parks will be an important way to attack the lack of affordable housing and asked if there are barriers in that area. 

Ho said one challenge is the parks have traditionally been created outside city limits and thus run on wells and septic systems. Another issue is getting used to the idea that state funds are available for the neighborhoods.

“I see this as an area where the agency should only be doing more,” Ho said.  

Public housing properties are ineligible for funding through housing bonds, but can finance repairs with general obligation bonds.

According to the Minnesota chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, the state’s public housing has immediate critical rehabilitation needs totaling almost $355 million or $16,790 per unit.  


Related Articles


Priority Dailies

House passes tax package that includes rebate checks, $1 billion in new revenues
Rep. Aisha Gomez and House Majority Leader Jamie Long talk during a break in the May 20 debate on HF1938, the tax finance and policy bill. (Photo by Catherine Davis) Is it the largest tax cut in Minnesota history? Or the biggest tax hike the state has ever experienced? Could it be both? That’s the crux of the debate about the conference ...
House passes finalized cannabis legalization bill, sends it to Senate
A supporter of cannabis legalization demonstrates in front of the Capitol in 2021. The House repassed a bill to legalize recreational cannabis, as amended in conference committee, May 18 and sent HF100 to the Senate. (House Photography file photo) The House gave the green light to adult-use recreational cannabis Thursday. “The day has finally arrived. Today is the day that we are going to vote here in the House for th...

Minnesota House on Twitter