ST PAUL, Minn. — For now, some renters in Minnesota are still protected from eviction even as the federal eviction moratorium is set to expire on Saturday.
Because of a carefully designed off-ramp from the moratorium by the Minnesota Legislature, protections for renters will be phased out gradually over the next year.
All lease termination and eviction protections in Minnesota will end on June 1, 2022. Until that date, those who are eligible for federal emergency rental assistance cannot be evicted for not paying rent if they have a pending application for that financial help.
On Aug. 13, landlords will be able to terminate the leases of people who are not eligible for rental assistance and owe back rent. Landlords will be able to evict those renters starting Sept. 12.
Currently, landlords can only evict people who have materially violated their lease, or people who are eligible for federal financial assistance but choose not to apply.
Minnesota's rental assistance program, called RentHelpMN, promises to help eligible renters catch up on overdue rent and utility payments dating back to March 13, 2020. According to the Minnesota Housing Department's website, the assistance is for "low-income renter households at or below 80% of area median income (AMI), with a priority for households below 50% AMI and households that have been unemployed 90+ days."
The funding for the program comes from the federal COVID relief bill passed in December 2020.
Renters who are eligible for help from RentHelpMN can find more information on the program's website here.
