Tenants, businesses, advocates urge City Council to ease eviction crisis with temporary ordinance

On March 3rd, tenants, small business owners and community advocates rallied at Minneapolis City Hall urging Mayor Frey and City Council to stabilize economic turmoil across the city with a temporary eviction pause ordinance. The proposed ordinance would temporarily extend eviction pre-filing notice by 30 days, giving renters critical time to access rental assistance and other resources they need to restabilize their households.

Testimonies from community leaders

Juan Luis Rivera-Reyes, Coalition Organizer at the Alliance and facilitator of the Housing Justice League, said: “Families continue to be destroyed and forced to shelter in place. Many residents have lost millions in wages, business owners have lost millions in potential revenue, employees aren’t being paid, yet rent was due on Sunday. We did not ask for this crisis, and yet it has come to our doorsteps. So we are asking for time, not forgiveness of rent, not permanent policy changes, just time for assistance to reach the people who need it.”

Jess Zarik, Co-Executive Director at HOME Line, said: “While our immigrant neighbors are experiencing the sharpest harm, the ripple effects of this crisis are reaching far beyond any one group. People are skipping work. Parents are keeping children home from school. We know that roughly 80% of immigrant-owned businesses in parts of our metro have shuttered. When that happens, the economic shock does not stay contained, it ripples outward to workers, tenants, landlords, and entire neighborhoods.”

City Council votes

After hearing over 70 community members share testimony, the vast majority in favor of extending the pre-eviction notice period, City Council members voted. There were 7 ayes, 5 nays, and 1 abstention vote.: The ordinance was moved forward with recommendation to the full council meeting on Thursday, March 5th.

Take Action

Contact your representatives here to:

• Demand your city council member and mayor extend eviction pre-filing notices.
• Demand Chief Judge Kerry Meyer delay eviction proceedings and move eviction hearings online.
• Demand Governor Walz issues an eviction moratorium.

The Housing Justice League is a group of community organizations advocating for policy change and building grassroots support for housing justice in Minneapolis.