Share

Housing Issues Begin to Emerge for 2010 Session

Cities are urged to contact legislators to support bonding and foreclosure cost recovery for cities.
(Published Feb 3, 2010)

The Minnesota Housing Partnership held a 2010 Session Preview on Jan. 29, and the League was there with others to outline key proposals and messages to urge state lawmakers to make housing a priority in bonding and foreclosure prevention measures.

Other organizations bringing the same message included the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless, the City of Minneapolis, HOME Line, Minnesota chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (MN NAHRO), Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, and the Minnesota State Building and Construction Trades Council.

Talk to your legislators
Now is the time to let local legislators know the urgent need to invest in preserving existing housing stock and to aid cities that are feeling the financial impact of the foreclosure crisis. Action on state bonding requests will also help relieve the severe strains in the housing market. The House Capital Investment Finance Division is expected to announce its bonding recommendations when the 2010 legislative session opens on Feb. 4.

League supports new proposals
The League housing policies urge the 2010 Legislature to help cities recover costs they incur to protect foreclosed and abandoned properties. The League is supporting measures that will allow the court to award costs to cities that initiate action to shorten a mortgagor’s redemption period to five weeks in order to gain control of vacant properties and protect them from vandalism and damage. Sen. Linda Higgins (DFL-Minneapolis) said she plans to introduce legislation with this language in the first days of the 2010 session. This legislation will also require lenders to notify cities at both the time of upcoming sale (pendency) of foreclosed properties as well as at the time of a completed sheriff’s sale, including the name and contact information of the person responsible for the property who can respond to maintenance concerns.

The Higgins legislation will also include a measure to return the timeframe for securing a vacant or abandoned property by lien back to six days. In the 2009 session, the timeframe was increased to 14 days, but that resulted in new problems when some cities found that they were forced to undertake expensive emergency boarding measures to secure properties.

Funding proposal for foreclosure remediation
The League and MN NAHRO (representing local housing and redevelopment authorities) are also supporting Minnesota Housing’s bonding requests for $40 million to fund foreclosure remediation and public housing rehabilitation costs as well as $2.5 million for nonprofit housing bonds for community land trusts. Bonding being requested for public housing capital improvements totals $10 million in state bonds. The funding is particularly urgent in view of the fact that federal sources for capital funding to maintain and update public housing have all but disappeared.

New housing bills
Other bill numbers of interest to cities include:

  • HF 2481(Rep. Michael Nelson, DFL-Brooklyn Park). Would authorize the sale and issuance of state bonds and appropriating funds for rehabilitation of public housing.
  • HF 2511(Rep. Joe Mullery, DFL-Minneapolis). Would expand the use of tax increment financing district increments for housing replacement.
  • HF 2527 (Rep Jim Davnie, DFL-Minneapolis). Would expand exemption from state sales tax for low income project construction material.
  • HF 2604 (Rep. Jeff Hayden, DFL-Minneapolis). Would allow a stay of mortgage foreclosures under certain conditions and provide tenants the right to remain in foreclosed rental property.
  • HF 2613 (Rep. Debra Hilstrom, DFL-Brooklyn Center). Would provide mediation prior to commencement of foreclosure proceedings on homestead property and create homestead-lender mediation account.

Read the current issue of the Cities Bulletin