Item Description:
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JPA A2613381 with the City of Minneapolis, for emergency rent assistance, 03/01/26-12/31/26, $2,000,000 (recv)
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Resolution:
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BE IT RESOLVED, that Joint Power Agreement A2613381 with the City of Minneapolis for emergency rent assistance, during the period of March 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026 in the maximum receivable amount of $2,000,000 be approved; that the Chair of the Board be authorized to sign the agreement on behalf of the County; and that the Controller be authorized to disburse funds as directed; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the 2026 revenue and expenditure budget for the Housing
Stability division of Human Services and Public Health department increase by up to $2,000,000 using the City of Minneapolis funding for emergency rent assistance for Hennepin County residents facing eviction; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that sponsorship and acceptance of grant funding for the program by Hennepin County Board of Commissioners does not imply a continued commitment by Hennepin County for this program when grant funds are no longer available.
Background:
Hennepin County launched a coordinated emergency rent assistance system, RentHelp Hennepin, in 2023. Since its launch, the County and its partners have prevented more than 7,500 evictions. The County has already allocated $9.6 million for emergency rent assistance in 2026 across various funding sources, all of which will be administered through RentHelp Hennepin. The City of Minneapolis is now allocating up to $2 million in additional one-time crisis funding to be administered through RentHelp Hennepin, bringing its projected 2026 funding total to a maximum of $11.6 million.
The County intends to partner with community organizations - to include the culturally specific Isuroon, Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio (CLUES), and Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center (MIWRC) - to engage and screen Minneapolis residents facing eviction, support eligible residents to apply for emergency rent assistance through RentHelp Hennepin, and provide light-touch support services helping residents to navigate the eviction process and access additional resources such as legal representation. In accordance with pre-existing RentHelp Hennepin practices, the County will administer payments on behalf of these organizations. While existing RentHelp Hennepin funds are limited to households under 30% of area median income (AMI) who have an eviction filing, the City of Minneapolis crisis emergency rent assistance funds will be made available to households under 30% AMI with either an eviction filing or a 30-day notice of intent to file from their property manager.
This crisis funding will enable Hennepin County to prevent evictions for a projected 540 additional households in 2026. Across all funding sources, the County is projected to prevent evictions for more than 3,000 households in 2026 including a projected 2,250 evictions prevented among Minneapolis households.
Current action: Approve Joint Powers Agreement A2613381 with the City of Minneapolis for a recv NTE of $2,000,000 for the period of March 1, 2026-December 31, 2026.
Disparity Elimination: This request reduces disparities in the housing domain by preserving housing stability and preventing evictions. Most often these are people who are members of groups disparately impacted by homelessness and housing instability.
recommendation
Recommendation from County Administrator: Recommend Approval