Educate elected officials about how housing costs impact current residents or workers in your community.

Our research shows 1 in 5 workers in the Twin Cities region is housing cost-burdened. Your elected officials need to hear from you about the specific situation in your community. Advocate for zoning policies responsive to your community’s needs and more funding for housing initiatives.

• Educate yourself on the supply needs of your specific geographic area. Read our report on the region’s future workforce housing needs.
• Explore the Homes for All legislative agenda.

Learn how your community responds to rental building code violations.

Encourage local government to adopt a balanced approach to enforcement that requires basic quality standards while putting tenants at the center of all enforcement decisions.

• Learn about renters’ and landlords’ rights and responsibilities.
• Read a comparison between Chicago and Minneapolis approaches to code violations.

Improve stability in your community by helping to prevent eviction.

Eviction can create a downward spiral of housing instability. A great deal of work is being done to address the root causes of eviction and enhance housing stability for families. You have a role to play. 

• Learn more about our eviction prevention work and get in touch to partner with us.
• Support changes to Housing Courts across the region in order to create a resource-rich environment that addresses the real needs of litigants.
• Advocate for rapid access to flexible emergency assistance dollars to support renters who encounter a financial challenge that leaves them unable to pay their rent in full.
• Work with us to reach out to property owners and help address disputes and problems without an eviction filing.

Evaluate whether your community’s housing stock provides a full range of housing choices.

• Identify housing options that are absent in your community and create a plan to fill these gaps using organizing, advocacy, and lobbying.
• Encourage government bodies to prioritize publicly-owned land for affordable housing. 
• Consider life-cycle strategies that help with accessibility or in-home services that keep seniors as part of the community. For example, an ADU can provide options for multigenerational living, housing an adult child with a disability, or aging in place.