Agency Planning for Legislative Funds

In May 2023, Governor Walz signed the $1.065 billion housing omnibus bill, the largest single investment in housing in state history. Other legislation brought the total investment in housing to over $1.3 billion.

The housing bill is an increase of $950 million from the Agency’s base budget of $115 million for 2022-2023. An estimated $625 million is allocated to existing programs and $440 million will go to over 15 new programs or activities. This budget responds to the range of housing needs felt by Minnesotans in all regions of the state, while focusing on closing disparities, assisting lowest-income Minnesotans and serving underserved geographies. 

The use of approved legislative funds fits into the following categories:

Capital Resources (50%)
Housing Stability (25%)
Homeownership Assistance (20%)
Other (5%)

Read our summary of housing funding allocations in 2023 One Minnesota Budget.

What to Expect

We recognize there is extensive community interest in how and when the budgeted housing funding will be available. The answer will vary greatly, depending on the program. Some of the funding goes to existing agency programs and some of the funding created new programs.

Many factors will affect the timeline and availability of the funding for each line item, including whether it requires hiring new staff, conducting public engagement, developing a program guide, and more.

Programs Being Implemented

The new two-year budget period started in July 2023. Program implementation will be rolled out over time as Minnesota Housing builds capacity.

Rolling Out

Programs Rolling Out

The following programs are fully created at Minnesota Housing and are rolling out now with some or all additional funding allocated in the new budget:

Bridges: Rental assistance for families with at least one adult member having a serious mental illness
Family Homeless Prevention (FHPAP): Short-term assistance to families at risk of homelessness
Homework Starts with Home: Rent and other housing assistance to families with children that lack housing stability
Housing Trust Fund: Rental assistance for individuals and families who have previously experienced homelessness
Homeownership, Education, Counseling and Training (HECAT): Pre-purchase homebuyer counseling and foreclosure prevention counseling services
Rental Rehabilitation Loans: Rehabs naturally occurring affordable housing and federally subsidized rental housing in Greater Minnesota

Note: Funding available for individual organizations is not listed.

Available through Consolidated RFP

Programs Available through Consolidated RFP

Funding for the following was allocated through the Consolidated RFP Project Selections, which was approved by the board in December 2023.

Challenge (Economic Development and Housing Challenge): Multifamily rental and single-family homeownership new construction, rehab and downpayment assistance.
Housing Infrastructure: Loans and grants for rental housing development and manufactured housing community
Preservation (PARIF): Repair, rehabilitation and stabilization of federally assisted rental housing that is at risk of aging out of federal assistance programs
Workforce Homeownership Development: Development resources to increase homeownership opportunities

Open or Available Soon

The following programs are open or will have funding opportunities available soon:

Greater Minnesota Workforce Housing: Competitive financial assistance to build market-rate and mixed-income residential rental properties in Greater Minnesota
Publicly Owned Housing Program: Resources to improve public housing with a priority on health and safety improvements, including fire suppression systems and energy efficiency/climate improvements

Program Updates

First Generation Downpayment Assistance: Program concept approved by the board in October 2023. Homebuyer assistance expected to be available spring 2024
Manufactured Home Community Redevelopment Program: Grants for manufactured home park acquisition, improvements and infrastructure
Stable Housing Organizational Relief Program: Eligible applications approved for aid distribution in October. Over 40 organizations will receive $49.8 million, representing 25,764 units of housing

Grantee Process

Most new programs are grants. Learn more at Office of Grant Management.

Whether a grantee was named in the legislation or is selected through a competitive RFP, all programs and grantees will have specific Agency and state processes and procedures they need to follow.

No Grantees Named

If a grantee was not named in the legislation, we will announce grant opportunities and accept applications through Requests for Proposal (RFP).

Grantees Named

In some cases, specific grantees were named alongside certain items in the housing bill.

If your organization was named, we will work together on a grant contract agreement, which includes a workplan, budget, monitoring through the life cycle of the grant as well as closeout requirements.

If your organization is an anticipated grantee within an existing Minnesota Housing program, the proposed activities must also be allowed under the current program guide. If the proposed activities are not in the current program guide, then the program guide will need to be updated by the Minnesota Housing Board of Directors before a grant can be issued.

Agency Updates

We are adapting our Agency structure and hiring new staff to build a strong foundation to support all our programs.

We have:

Hired three new Agency leaders
- Assistant Commissioner for Special Projects
- Assistant Commissioner for Housing Stability Division
- Director of Local Government Housing Programs
Elevated Housing Stability to its own division
Posted several new positions, including Manager of Local Government Housing Programs and Manager of Rental Assistance Programs

We will:

Hire over 50 new staff members
Continue to build the Local Government Housing Programs team to implement several of the new programs

We're hiring!

We're looking for dedicated people to help us build and manage our programs. Know someone in your network who may be interested? Visit our Careers page for current openings.

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Related Pages

Open RFPs

Opportunities to Engage