The City of Minneapolis was awarded funding, pursuant to Division N, Title V, Subtitle A, Section 501 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, (Pub. L. 116-260), as a one-time direct allocation of Emergency Rental Assistance funding (ERA 1) from the United States Department of the Treasury. And, with this agreement (A2110842), the City is awarding a portion of its ERA 1 Funds in the amount of up to $1,491,848.07 to Hennepin County HSPH (Housing Stability), to administer an Emergency Rental Assistance Tenant Application Program.

Agreement A2110842 was approved by the Board (Resolution 21-0290) on July 20, 2021, Amendment 1 to this agreement (Resolution 21-0493) was approved on December 14, 2021, and Amendment 2 (Resolution 22-0120) was approved on March 22, 2022.

This program will be for eligible households of Minneapolis renters with income below 80% of AMI in which one or more individual can demonstrate a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability and in which one or more individuals has either qualified for unemployment benefits or has experienced a reduction in income, incurred significant costs, or experienced other financial hardship due to COVID-19. Priority must be given to households with income less than 50% of AMI OR households with extended unemployment of at least 90 days prior to application for assistance.

This amendment will increase the not to exceed amount to $1,805,350.26, and for no less than $1,641,928.04 of the Subgrant to be used by the Hennepin County to provide Financial Assistance, and that no more than $163,422.21 of the Subgrant may be used by the County for Housing Stability Services.

To implement this program, the City has requested that Hennepin County staff assist with the distribution of Emergency Rental Assistance to expend funds to households in need of rent help as quickly as possible. Hennepin County Human Services Department staff will process applications for emergency housing and utility assistance using Allita’s online system. Rent and utility assistance payments will be paid through the County’s APEX system. Hennepin County will ensure access to these funds for underserved households by helping applicants gather needed information and documentation, submitting required reports to the City, and following guidelines of the US Department of Treasury.

Disparity Reduction: This board action request aligns with Hennepin County disparity reduction efforts by supporting housing stability for individuals who have past due rent. Over 10,000 applications for rent help have been submitted by Hennepin County residents. The majority of these are residents of the city of Minneapolis.