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Section is Minnesota's Housing Crisis <br />Minnesota is in the midst of a severe housing <br />crisis and the problem is getting worse. <br />According to the Joint Center for Housing <br />Studies of Harvard University, the supply of <br />low-cost rental housing in Minnesota has <br />fallen by a quarter over the last decade, while <br />demand for affordable housing grew.2 In 2011, <br />there were 408,599 units available for less <br />than $1,000 a month. In 2021, that number <br />decreased to 308,733.3 <br />As a result, Minnesota families have been <br />forced to devote a growing share of their <br />household budget to housing. More than <br />10% of Minnesotans, or 590,530, are cost <br />burdened, which is defined as housing costs <br />that exceed 30% of household income.4 Over <br />250,000 children live in these cost -burdened <br />households.5As Minnesota's population <br />ages, this problem will only get worse. Nearly <br />two in every three seniors who rent are cost <br />burdened.6 <br />As costs continue to rise, the number of <br />Minnesotans who are evicted from their <br />homes has increased substantially compared <br />to pre-COVID-19 levels. In 2022, 22,455 <br />evictions were filed around the state, which <br />is a 33% increase over pre -pandemic historic <br />2 "MHP Releases Key Facts on Housing," Minnesota Housing <br />Partnership (MHP), September2o22, https://mhponline.org/- <br />022 /. <br />3 "The Supply of Low -Cost Rentals Continues to Decline," <br />joint Center forHousing Studies, https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/ <br />son-2o23-low-cost-rentals. <br />4 "2023 Minnesota State Housing Profile," MHP, March 2023, <br />https://mhponline.org/minnesota-state-housing-profile/. <br />"2o23 Minnesota State Housing Profile," Minnesota <br />HousingPartnership (MHP), https://mhponline.org/ <br />minnesota-state-housing-profile/. <br />6 Ibid. <br />state filings.' Of those evictions, 13,137 were <br />filed in Hennepin and Ramsey counties, which <br />accounts for 53% of the statewide total.8 <br />The pain isn't only being felt by renters in <br />the Minneapolis -St. Paul metro area either. <br />According to the Minnesota Housing Project, <br />Minnesotans need to earn a salary of $85,620 <br />in order to afford the median -priced home,' <br />while the median household income in the <br />state is $77,7061° One in five Minnesota <br />homeowners (19%) is currently considered <br />cost -burdened 11 Minnesota also has a large <br />racial disparity in homeownership: 78% of <br />white Minnesotans are homeowners while <br />only 31% of black Minnesotans own their <br />home.12This is particularly damaging because <br />of the historic role of homeownership in <br />generational wealth -building. <br />Minnesota needs to increase the pace <br />of new home construction at all levels <br />of affordability, from subsidized low- <br />income housing to single family homes for <br />homeownership. Government support for <br />new housing is critical. Unfortunately, in some <br />cases government support also fuels abusive <br />practices in affordable housing construction. <br />7 "Minnesota I Eviction Tracking System," Eviction Lab, https:// <br />evictionlab.org/eviction-tracking/minnesota/. <br />8 "2023 Minnesota State Housing Profile," n.d. Minnesota <br />HousingPartnership (MHP), https://mhponline.org/ <br />minnesota-state-housing-profile/. <br />Ibid <br />9 <br />ro "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Minnesota," U.S. <br />Census, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/MN/ <br />INCrro22I#INCraozzr. <br />rr "2o23 Minnesota State Housing Profile," Minnesota <br />HousingPartnership (MHP), https://mhponline.org/ <br />minne sota-state-housing-profile/. <br />12 Ibid. <br />North Star Policy Action 5 <br />