Agenda - Council - 02/08/2021 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Community Survey data, the homeownership rate non -Hispanic White Americans has held consistently above 71%. However, the homeownership rate for Black Americans remains the lowest of all racial groups nationally at 41.8 percent. Comparatively for Hispanic Americans, the homeownership rate is around 47% and for Asian Americans, it has hovered around 5 3 %. According to the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency analysis of the 2018 U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, Minnesota has one of the highest homeownership rates in the nation, but the state has the fourth largest disparity in homeownership rates between white/non- Hispanic households and households of color. According to the 2018 U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, households of color are also more likely to experience cost burden (paying more than 30% of their income on housing). In Minnesota, 40% of households of color experience cost burden as compared to 23% of white households. Project based and voucher based rental assistance that enable renters to pay no more than 30% of their income on housing are critical to reducing cost burden disparities. Nationally, according to data analysis provided by the Urban Institute, only 1 in 5 households who qualify for a Section 8 voucher receive this critical form of rental assistance. State rental assistance programs are underfunded and are only intended to serve as last resort efforts to prevent homelessness. As a result, low-income families often make tradeoffs to reduce housing costs. Families may choose or only be able to afford living in poor -quality, substandard housing or a long distance from work opportunities to reduce housing costs. The imbalance between the demand for affordable housing and the supply of low- cost rentals contributes to increasing housing costs. At the same time, wages have 75 remained stagnant and not kept up with increased housing costs resulting in more and more families experiencing housing cost burden. Rent -burdened households have higher eviction rates, increased financial fragility, and wider use of social safety net programs, compared with other renters and homeowners. The rates and severity of rent burden, especially for households of color, have increased housing instability and resulted in fewer households transitioning from renters to homeowners. Response: The Legislature should: a) Support resources and programs that seek to assist communities in their efforts to reduce barriers to housing and promote fair housing and equal opportunity and oppose any efforts by the federal government to roll back fair housing policies intended to protect people from housing discrimination. b) Support housing stability for renters through policies that mitigate the impact of or reduce evictions filed. c) Reduce racial disparities in homeownership in Minnesota and support policies and encourage innovative solutions that address structural barriers for people of color when it comes to accessing housing including policies that encourage fair lending and provide homebuyer education and funding for down payment assistance to low income households. d) Support programs that reduce cost burden among renters and support policies that address barriers for people of color when accessing safe, healthy and decent affordable rental housing.