Supportive Housing Narrative
Last Updated: March 2026
Instructions: Only applicants with projects that qualify as primarily supportive housing must complete this narrative. This includes all applicants that would like to be considered for Housing Infrastructure funding for supportive housing; refer to the Housing Infrastructure Guide for Permanent Supportive Housing eligibility criteria. To qualify as primarily supportive housing, 50% or more of the project’s total units must serve High Priority Homeless (HPH), People with Disabilities (PWD) Tier One, or Other Homeless households.
Applicants are required to consult with the local Continuum of Care (CoC) and, if PWD units are included in proposal, the county or Tribal human services department to develop a plan for the supportive housing units and determine if the proposal meets a need for supportive housing in the proposed location. Applicants must also confirm that there is a demonstrated market of eligible households for the units as proposed and determine whether the planned resources for rental assistance and services are appropriate and feasible. Refer to the CoC Contact List for CoC contact information.
To be considered a competitive applicant for supportive housing units, the narrative should reflect and demonstrate a joint response from the developer, the primary service provider, the management agent, and the county or Tribal human services department (as applicable). The narrative must be signed by the primary service provider and, if PWD units are included in proposal, a representative from the county or Tribal human services department. For more information about supportive housing, refer to the Supportive Housing webpage.
Project Information
Property Name:      
Owner/Sponsor Name:      
Property Management Company Name:      
Primary Service Provider Organization Name:      
Property Eligibility and Key Partners
1.	Is the proposed project one of the following types of licensed facilities? Check all that apply.
	 Nursing home
	 Assisted living 
	 Boarding and lodging establishment
	 Supervised living facility
	 A property where residents require a 24-hour plan for supervision and/or medical health care
	 Not a licensed facility
2.	Describe the partnership between the owner, the property management company, and the service provider(s), and any previous experience working together.
	     
PWD units are intended to serve low-income people with disabilities who are not necessarily homeless, and who receive, or are eligible to receive, mainstream services through the county or Tribal human services. Each county or Tribe may provide the services directly or they may contract with local providers to provide the service(s).
3.	If the project proposal includes PWD units, describe how the applicant/owner worked with the county or Tribal human services department to determine the plan for these units to address the needs of people with disabilities in the community. Also include how the team determined the target population(s), the referral process, and planned resources for rental assistance and services.
	     
Supportive Housing Unit Types and Tenant Characteristics
4.	Total number of housing units:      
5.	Enter the housing unit distribution, proposed populations, referral sources, and rental assistance resources for the supportive housing units in the table below. Note that units primarily targeting families should have at least two bedrooms.
Table 1: Unit and Tenant Characteristics
Question	HPH Units	PWD Units	Other Supportive Housing Units	Units that are not Supportive Housing	
Total Number of Units	     	     	     	     	
Household Type (families or singles) 	     	     	     	     	
Population Characteristics	     	Disability Type(s):      	     	     	
Referral Source(s)	Coordinated Entry system	     	     	N/A	
Will Homelessness Eligibility be Required?	Yes			N/A	
Other Eligibility Requirements	     	     	     	     	
Rental Assistance Resource(s)/Number of Units	     /     	     /     	     /     	     /     	
Rental Assistance Resource(s)/Number of Units	     /     	     /     	     /     	     /     	
The rents for HPH, PWD, and other supportive housing units must be affordable to the proposed population. If using Housing Support for rent, the owner and service provider must work together to determine the amount of Housing Support that can be used for rent and operations (for example, front desk). The Housing Support provider must have enough funds to provide all of the room and board requirements (for example, beds, linens, cleaning supplies). Refer to section 3.02 (Supportive Housing Standards) of the Multifamily Underwriting Standards for information on underwriting rent levels for supportive housing units.
6.	Provide additional narrative to describe proposed rental assistance resources as needed (optional).
	     
7.	For applicants that are applying for deferred funding sources and would like to be considered for Housing Infrastructure funding for supportive housing, note that at least 50% of the units must serve people experiencing homelessness (HPH or Other Homeless1 populations). Will your project be able to meet this requirement? 
8.	For existing projects with occupied units, at least 50% of the tenants will need to meet the homeless eligibility requirement by the time of closing on the financing to be considered for Housing Infrastructure funding for supportive housing. Will your project be able to meet this eligibility requirement? 
9.	Describe any distinctive development design elements of the supportive housing, including unique characteristics or composition of the unit(s) and/or the office/common space(s) that will be accessed by supportive housing tenants. (for example, roommates or a shared housing model, community space, service provider office space)
	     
10.	Will meals be provided on site? 
a.	If yes, how will the meal provision be funded?      
Tenant Referral and Application Process
The Coordinated Entry (CE) system is a centralized or coordinated process designed to coordinate program participant assessment and provision of referrals to housing and services and is administered by the local Continuum of Care (CoC). Referrals for High Priority Homeless (HPH) units are required to come from the CoC CE system unless the project is approved to use an alternative referral process.
11.	The applicant acknowledges that the project will use the Coordinated Entry system as the referral source for HPH units? 
12.	If there are populations the project intends to serve in supportive housing units that are not included in the Coordinated Entry system, describe the population(s) and why they are not included or served through the Coordinated Entry system.
	     
13.	Applicants proposing to serve homeless populations not referred through the Coordinated Entry system confirm that, if selected, outreach and assessment processes for these supportive housing units will be outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and/or service plan during underwriting, in collaboration with community partners and Minnesota Housing. 
Selected projects are required to create a Tenant Selection Plan (TSP) that follows Minnesota Housing’s TSP Guidelines. These guidelines provide explicit tenant screening requirements for supportive housing units. Minnesota Housing will review TSPs prior to approval for loan closing or housing tax credit (HTC) carryover to make sure the TSP is structured to adequately reach the intended population. For more information on the impact of criminal history on success in housing, refer to the Wilder Research report, Success in Housing: How Much Does Criminal Background Matter?
14.	The applicant acknowledges that the project’s TSP will comply with Minnesota Housing’s TSP Guidelines? 
15.	There cannot be additional criteria to determine applicant acceptance beyond unit eligibility and screening practices that comply with Minnesota Housing’s TSP guidelines. Confirm that the project will be able to meet this expectation. 
Occupancy Requirements
16.	Will the tenants hold a lease or rental agreement? 
17.	Will there be any specific occupancy requirements for the supportive housing units beyond standard lease terms or outside of Housing First practices (for example, requirement for sobriety, participation in services, curfew, etc.)? 
a.	If yes, describe the requirements and the rationale for these requirements:      
Service Delivery
The Supportive Housing Alliance (SHA) is an interagency working group of designees from organizations that fund the development and operation of supportive housing throughout Minnesota, whose purpose is to directly impact the creation, preservation, and stabilization of supportive housing as a key component in Minnesota’s work to prevent and end homelessness.
The SHA has developed Supportive Housing Standards so that housing providers and funders have a clear understanding of what is needed for quality supportive housing to serve the needs of the intended populations.
The SHA Supportive Housing Standards are considered best practices, and Minnesota Housing encourages owners and project partners to incorporate the standards into their operations and as funding allows.
18.	Are the supportive housing partners (service provider, property management, and owner) for this project willing to work to adhere to the SHA Supportive Housing Standards as funding allows, and use them to guide the project design? 
19.	Describe how the team will work to ensure the project is serving populations who are overrepresented in homelessness, has inclusive low-barrier entry, and can provide culturally responsive services.
	     
20.	Confirm that the project will have specific practices and policies that will be used by the service provider and property management to address lease infractions and prevent eviction or loss of housing for the supportive housing tenants, and that this policy will be described in the MOU and service plan for the project. 
21.	Data entry into the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) is required for the HPH units. What entity will be responsible for HMIS entry for the HPH units – the primary service provider, property management, or other identified entity?      
Service Staffing and Funding Resources
22.	In the table below, indicate the total full-time equivalent (FTE) staff and costs related to the provision of supportive services by the primary service provider, front desk staffing, and the planned funding sources for those costs. Staffing should be adequate to support the intended population, including on-site service provision and front desk staffing with consideration for external services brought on-site, such as behavioral health services, nursing services, etc. Do not include the external services in the budget – describe in question 23.
Table 2: Service and Front Desk Staffing and Funding Resources
Staffing Type	Number of FTE Staff	Estimated Annual Cost	Planned Funding Source(s)	
Case Manager	     	$     	     	
Tenant Service Coordinator	     	$     	     	
Peer Specialist	     	$     	     	
Supervisor/Program Manager	     	$     	     	
Nurse	     	$     	     	
Front Desk Staff	     	$     	     	
Senior Service Coordinator (if project is restricted to 55+)	      	$     	     	
Other; list:      	     	$     	     	
Other; list:      	     	$     	     	
Total	     	$     	N/A	
23.	If there are other service providers that will be providing significant supports and services to households on a regular basis, describe the type of service(s) and anticipated level of services.
	     
24.	Will the development have a staffed front desk or on-site security? 
a.	If yes, will the front desk be staffed by property management or service provider staff? 
b.	If on-site security will be provided in addition to the front desk staffing, describe how that will be provided and what resources will be used to cover the costs:      
25.	Will property management be on site on a regular basis? 
a.	If yes, how many hours per week?      
26.	In the tables below, describe the planned and secured funding sources for services provided by the primary service provider for the HPH, PWD, and other supportive housing units, including sources to cover front desk costs. The funding sources for FTE staff outlined in Table 2 must be reflected below. Include documentation for secured service funding with application materials uploaded to the Multifamily Customer Portal.
Table 3: Service Funding Resources – Billable Services and Operating Budget
Funding Source	Number of Households	Estimated Annual Amount	Status of Funding	
Housing Support Service Rate	     	$     		
Medicaid Waiver Services; type:      	     	$     		
Medicaid Waiver Services; type4:      	     	$     		
Medicaid Mental Health Services; type:      	     	$     		
Medicaid Mental Health Services; type5:      	     	$     		
Development Operating Budget	N/A	$     	Shown on Workbook under Unique Costs	
Total	N/A	$     	N/A	
Table 4: Service Funding Resources – Grants, Philanthropy, and Fund Raising
Funding Source Type	Name of Source(s)	Estimated Annual Amount	Status of Funding	
State Grant	     	$     		
Federal Grant	     	$     		
Other; name:      	     	$     		
Other; name:      	     	$     		
Total	N/A	$     	N/A	
Total Estimated Annual Service Budget (total from Tables 3 and 4)	N/A	$     	N/A	
The Total Estimated Annual Service Budget should match or be greater than the total cost outlined in Table 2.

Certifications
Service Provider Signature
I,      , hereby certify that the organization stated below has agreed to be the primary service provider for the supportive housing units for this development and has participated in completing the Supportive Housing Narrative.
     
Name of Organization
     	     
Authorized Signatory Printed Name	Title
     	     
Authorized Signature	Date
County or Tribal Human Services Entity Signature
The signature of the human services entity is necessary if the project proposal includes PWD Tier One units. The signature confirms the collaboration and consultation between the owner/applicant and the human services entity in determining the target population and resource types for the PWD units, as described in question 3 and in Table 1.
     
Name of County or Tribal Nation
     	     
Authorized Signatory Printed Name	Title
     	     
Authorized Signature	Date