Workgroup on Expediting Rental Assistance

The Workgroup on Expediting Rental Assistance partnered with Research in Action to conduct a literature review and to engage community to inform the WERA’s final legislative recommendations.

Partners

Workgroup on Expediting Rental Assistance

The workgroup was charged by the Minnesota Legislature to identify what processes, procedures, and technological or personnel resources would be necessary to enable the state or county agencies responsible for administering government rental assistance to do the following:

  • Within two weeks of receiving a completed application for rental assistance, make and issue a determination on the application and

  • Within 30 days of receiving a completed application for rental assistance, issue payment to the landlord on an approved rental application.

Problem

The increased need for emergency rental assistance during COVID further exacerbated existing challenges for renters around the process, experience and distribution of applicable state funds. Given the entrenched and ongoing housing crisis, increased attention to these programs and their efficacy is long overdue and much needed. Recent studies and renter engagement in Minnesota has revealed significant concerns and barriers, including problems related to:

  • information communication from service providers to potential and current applicants

  • eligibility and eligibility criteria of the current emergency rental assistance programs

  • accessing or navigating technology, as it relates to applying for assistance

  • the length of time it takes when applying, processing, and receiving emergency rental assistance

  • applicants’ experience of dehumanization from the emergency rental assistance system and providers

Process

RIA conducted an in-depth literature analysis of community-engaged reports and held two community convenings with community members who have lived experience navigating the emergency assistance programs to determine if RIA’s findings from the literature reflected community experiences. After receiving WERA’s final legislative recommendations, RIA will gather community members again and ask for feedback and reflections on the final recommendations made by the WERA. RIA will summarize the response by community and WERA to ensure the impact of community voices does not stop as the legislative cycle continues.

Solutions

After analyzing existing community-engaged reports and collecting feedback from community convening sessions, RIA proposed the following community-based solutions: 

Create a centralized Emergency Rental Assistance System for all counties

“To have a centralized system for our identity and information, because now there are so many hoops to hop.”

Revise language in all program application forms to make them more accessible and easier to complete

“We need new language to humanize the process.”

Build on the strengths of CBOs (Community-Based Organizations) and other trusted partnerships across the state

“Inherent mistrust in the system creates mistrust in interactions.”

Improve applicant experiences with service systems by eliminating unsavory interactions with staff

“The front line workers now make it feel like you are asking for money from their pocket.”

Report