Community and Faith Groups Form Coalition to Support Rent Stabilization Charter Amendments

Home to Stay Mpls, a new coalition of community groups that represent thousands of renters, workers, and faith leaders in Minneapolis, called upon the Minneapolis City Council to approve two city charter amendments in order to pass a rent stabilization policy.

At a press conference held Wednesday morning before the Council’s hearing on the rent stabilization charter amendments in the Policy and Government Oversight Committee, advocates expressed the need for urgent action to address the housing affordability crisis in Minneapolis. During the meeting of the Council's Policy and Government Oversight Committee, the Council held a preliminary vote to forward the rent stabilization ballot questions to go on the ballot in November. The council will hold another vote on the rent stabilization charter amendments on Friday.

Chloe Jackson, United Renters For Justice/Inquilinxs Unidxs Por Justicia.

“We are in the midst of a housing crisis, and we need real solutions to address it. If the City Council doesn’t act now to support all the tools available to us to pass a strong rent stabilization policy, we will witness hundreds of our neighbors of color being priced out of the city” said Chloe Jackson during the press conference Wednesday morning. Jackson is a Minneapolis renter and organizer with the Home To Stay Mpls coalition.

The majority of Minneapolis households are renters, and more than 30% of renters are cost-burdened, meaning they pay more than a third of their income on rent alone.

Laura Carpenter, SEIU

One speaker Wednesday was Laura Carpenter, a mother of two and Minneapolis renter who is a food service worker in MSP schools and member of SEIU Local 284. She shared the story of having to move her two daughters multiple times because of lead paint that was peeling off the walls and why she supports the chance to vote for rent stabilization. 

“You never can feel safe and secure if your housing isn't stable. It’s time we act to address our housing crisis. Renters have so much to offer our communities, but we need stability,” said Carpenter. “We need the City Council to put these two charter amendments on the ballot. It’s time to let us vote so we can make Minneapolis a place where all of us – no matter our race, wealth or zip code – can afford a safe place to live and build our community.”

Coalition members were joined at the press conference by several members of the city council, including Lisa Bender, Cam Gordon, and Jeremiah Ellison, the original authors of the rent stabilization charter amendments, who joined the coalition’s call to reject the Charter Commission’s proposal and pass both charter amendments that would allow a path for rent stabilization in 2022. 

Jeremiah Ellison, Minneapolis City Council

“The charter commission’s recommendation is narrow. It provides undue hurdles towards us seeing this policy. And by rejecting one portion of the policy, and accepting another portion, and cherry picking the policy, the charter commission ends up contradicting itself. Our original policy doesn’t contradict itself, it gives us the most possible tools to see this policy all the way through [...] That is why we are standing firmly behind our original proposal [...] and I am confident that we are going to see this policy pass this evening,” stated Council Member  Jeremiah Ellison, one of the authors of the rent stabilization charter amendments. 

Minister Deborah and Rickey Cotton, Barbershop and Black Congregation Cooperative.

Minister Deborah Cotton, a North Minneapolis resident and leader with Barbershop and Black Congregation Cooperative added: “We really do need our government to come together and pass a path toward rent stabilization so that we can be able to take care of our families and not worry about where we’re going to sleep and how we’re going to afford to buy our next meal.”

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The Home to Stay Rent Stabilization coalition is an alignment of organizations and unions representing thousands of Minneapolis residents across race, income and zip code who support amending the Minneapolis charter in order to give the city the power to pass a rent stabilization policy in 2022. Members of our coalition include United Renters For Justice/Inquilinxs Unidxs Por Justicia, ISAIAH, SEIU, Jewish Community Action, Unidos MN.