Advocacy
Promoting strong, viable communities for all Minnesotans
We Want To Empower You!
Housing Authorities, including their commissioners, staff and residents, are a valuable and reliable resource for legislators to make informed decisions.
Your voice matters! Minnesota NAHRO helps its members advocate for resources and programs at the federal and state level.
Why does advocacy matter? Strong relationships with state and federal legislators can lead to a better understanding of community needs, which in turn creates an opportunity for legislation that helps your programs and community.
Legislation affects your operating budgets, for better or worse. These decisions can also affect the ability of your agency to start other programs your community may need or want.
If you do not tell “your story”, someone else may tell it for you.
Housing Authorities understand the housing and community development needs and the challenges at the local level, and you are in the best position to tell the story.
Minnesota NAHRO has a long history of being a successful advocate for its members.
Member Advocacy
Your voice matters! Minnesota NAHRO helps its members advocate for resources and programs at the federal and state level.
- We advocate for funding and programs.
- We provide tools and resources to help you tell your story.
- We provide action alerts and key talking points to help you connect with your lawmakers.
Minnesota NAHRO Small Agency Toolkit
A step by step guide to advocacy for Housing and Redevelopment Authorities. Download the Minnesota NARHO Small Agency Toolkit.
Policy Priorities
Minnesota NAHRO Advocacy in Action
2023 Federal Legislative Priorities
Congress should provide full funding of affordable housing and community development programs to meet the needs of the nation’s communities. In the current affordable housing crisis, it is more important than ever for Congress, HUD, and other federal agencies to function efficiently and effectively.
We urge Congress to provide timely, robust annual funding. NAHRO members appreciate recent robust appropriations, but the lateness of final spending bills has been an unnecessary challenge to already difficult work. Moreover, HUD programs in Minnesota invest in the state and have significant impact on our local economy.
Why it matters: Because of the rapid increase in housing, material, and labor costs, flat funding acts as a funding cut and impacts the number of people served. Speak up to let your legislators know that you want them to pass appropriations in a timely manner to help you do your job effectively. Let them know that you need predictable, adequate funding to serve residents in your community.
Minnesota NAHRO Advocacy in Action
2023 State Legislative Priorities
With a $17.7 billion surplus including American Rescue Plan funds, lawmakers have the opportunity to make real progress and reduce housing cost burden, improve the condition of homes, reduce home ownership disparity, and increase stability. In doing so, lawmakers will ensure children and families thrive, workers perform, businesses succeed.
Housing champions are asking for $2 billion in 2023. That includes:
- $1 billion to create and save homes, which would build new rental and ownership homes for 8,000 families and ensure 10,000 families can remain in their homes.
- $1 billion to create access and opportunity to housing would ensure over 137,000 families have the rental assistance to afford safe, quality homes and expand homeownership to roughly 5,000 first generation homeowners.
All Minnesota should have a safe, secure place to call home. Minnesotans of color, particularly Black, Latino, and Indigenous, are disproportionately harmed by poor housing quality, inequitable policies, and one of the largest homeownership gaps in the nation.
Investing in housing will provide stability, choice in rental for low-income renters, and homeownership and wealth-building opportunities for generations to come.
Minnesota NAHRO Advocacy in Action
2023 State Legislative Recap
Minnesota NAHRO adopted a legislative agenda based on three priorities: People, Production, and Preservation. Our advocacy efforts shared stories of how important empowering Minnesotans to thrive through increased access to safe and stable homes, increasing the supply of affordable housing for all low-income Minnesotans, and keeping communities strong by preserving public and naturally occurring affordable housing is to the well-being of our state.
The overall investment in affordable housing listed below are for the FY24-25 biennium which includes $1 Billion in one time money, $50 million in on-going funds plus an additional $400 million annually in the 7 metro counties. Moreover, the bonding bill includes $79 million for housing and $21 million for shelter capital projects.
Here are just a few of tools and resources that will impact HRAs directly across the full continuum of housing:
- Local Affordable Housing Aid – $294 million (NEW)
- State Rent Assistance Program – $134.3 million (NEW)
- Greater Minnesota Workforce Housing Development – $39 million (NEW)
- Challenge Fund – $120.85 million
- Community Stabilization (NOAH) – $90 million (NEW)
- Emergency Rental Assistance – $115.5 million
- Workforce Homeownership Program – $20.5 million (NEW)
- Homeownership Down Payment Assistance – $150 million (NEW)
Minnesota NAHRO will continue to provide updates and training to help our members better understand these resources and provide training on how to leverage these investments to impact their community.
Pass Timely, Robust Funding for HUD Programs – August Advocacy Week 5
Our final week of August Advocacy in HERE!
Congress should provide full funding of affordable housing and community development programs to meet the needs of the nation’s communities. In the current affordable housing crisis, it is more important than ever for Congress, HUD, and other federal agencies to function efficiently and effectively.
In our fifth and final week of August Advocacy, we are urging Congress to provide timely, robust annual funding. NAHRO members appreciate recent robust appropriations, but the lateness of final spending bills has been an unnecessary challenge to already difficult work. Moreover, HUD programs in Minnesota invest in the state and have significant impact on our local economy.
Why it matters: Because of the rapid increase in housing, material, and labor costs, flat funding acts as a funding cut and impacts the number of people served. Speak up to let your legislators know that you want them to pass appropriations in a timely manner to help you do your job effectively. Let them know that you need predictable, adequate funding to serve residents in your community.
OUR ASK
- Ensure timely passage of the FY23 T-HUD spending bill prior to the start of the fiscal year
- Provide robust funding levels that match or exceed the House-approved FY23 T-HUD spending bill
ECONOMIC IMPACT OF FEDERAL HOUSING PROGRAMS IN MINNESOTA
- In 2020, Federal rental assistance programs added $698 million to Minnesota’s economy
- Over 10 years, local tools such as HOME invested $479 million in Minnesota & leveraged over $2.68 billion in the state.
Advocacy Updates
Sample Letter for HRAs re: Cannabis Use at Multifamily Properties
With the recent passage of sweeping laws to permit recreational, adult, use of cannabis products in Minnesota, cannibus use will likely be an issue for HRAs to address with residents. To help our members message effectively around this issue, we have sample letters...
HUGE State Investment in Affordable Housing Brings New Tools & Resources for HRAs
Minnesota NAHRO adopted a legislative agenda based on three priorities: People, Production, and Preservation. Our advocacy efforts shared stories of how important empowering Minnesotans to thrive through increased access to safe and stable homes, increasing the supply...
December 5th Housing Update
With the holidays just around the corner, Congress is busy trying to get a budget passed before the end of CR on December 16th. This member update has an action alert for the federal lame duck session.
