On October 13, 14, and 15, MPHA will open its waitlist for the new state-funded housing voucher program, Bring it Home (BIH), for the first time. Modeled after the federal Housing Choice Voucher program, Minnesota Housing’s BIH program provides rental assistance to low-income Minnesota families. The agency anticipates adding as many as 1,500 households to the BIH waitlist during the three-day application window. This will be the first time MPHA has accepted public applications for any tenant-based housing assistance voucher since 2019.
“MPHA is excited to be opening its waitlist for the state-funded Bring it Home rental assistance program for the first time,” said Abdi Warsame, Executive Director/CEO of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority. “This new program will help hundreds of low-income families this year and thousands more in the future afford a safe, stable, affordable place to call home in Minneapolis. Bring it Home is helping thousands of families across Minnesota access affordable housing, and I thank the state leaders who championed this bold program.”
Last year, Minnesota Housing awarded MPHA a two-year, $21 million grant to administer BIH in Minneapolis. The $21 million award is estimated to fund the equivalent of 600-700 federal vouchers, which MPHA plans to use for both project- and tenant-based programs. Minnesota Housing and MPHA finalized the necessary funding agreement earlier this year, enabling MPHA to begin administering BIH this past summer.
Minnesota Housing’s BIH program is modeled after the federal Housing Choice Voucher program. In the federal program, housing authorities provide low-income households with a rental assistance voucher so they can rent a qualifying home from participating property owners. The household typically pays 30 percent of its income toward rent, and the voucher pays the remainder of the monthly rent costs up to an amount established by MPHA based on data collected and shared by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Currently, MPHA administers nearly 7,500 Housing Choice Vouchers, benefiting more than 18,500 people.
Housing Choice Vouchers are also often a steppingstone towards upward economic mobility for participants. When participants enter MPHA’s program, more than 90 percent enter at or below 30 percent AMI. But for the current heads of household that are of working age and eligible to work, 55 percent have increased their earned income since entering MPHA’s Housing Choice Voucher program, earning on average an additional $9,665 per year. Of the 55 percent of households that increased their earned income, 35 percent entered the program with earned income and have since increased it, whereas 20 percent came into the program with no earned income and now earn an income.
The new BIH program will operate similarly, with local housing authorities administering the program to provide rental assistance for low-income Minnesota families (household income of 50 percent Area Median Income (AMI) or below) that are currently cost-burdened by their housing costs (defined as paying more than 30 percent of their household income towards rent).
In August, MPHA began offering BIH vouchers to households on its existing federal Housing Choice Voucher waitlists. At the time, there were 337 households on MPHA’s federal waitlist and 249 households on the agency’s Right to Move/Choice Mobility waitlist, a separate waitlist maintained for households that have lived in a Project-Based Voucher (PBV) unit for at least one year and have expressed interest in a tenant-based voucher. Agency staff continue to work with those on the federal waitlist to ensure every interested and eligible household has an opportunity to receive a BIH voucher.
Because of different program eligibility requirements between the state and federal programs, not every household on MPHA’s federal waiting list was eligible for BIH. The BIH program requires applicants to be living in Minnesota, be rent burdened (more than 30 percent of household income goes to rent), and not currently served by a Section 8-funded program. Additionally, participants in MPHA’s BIH program are restricted to living in Minneapolis, whereas the federal voucher program provides greater geographic flexibilities after the first year of use.
Of the BIH-eligible families on MPHA’s federal waitlist, some families were not interested in being restricted to only living in Minneapolis, so they declined being considered for a BIH voucher. Households retained their spot on the federal waitlist(s) regardless of their eligibility or enrollment in BIH.
Following this work, MPHA estimates having enough state funding remaining to issue 300-350 new BIH tenant-based housing vouchers. On October 13, 14, and 15, MPHA will begin accepting applications from the public for these new BIH vouchers, adding as many as 1,500 households to the BIH waitlist during the three-day application window. Once the application period closes, MPHA staff will place eligible applicants on the BIH waitlist. The order will prioritize households with children under 18 years old and households at or below 30 percent AMI. Applicants will be notified of their waitlist status via RentCafe by November 1, 2026.
How to Apply*
To apply to be added to MPHA’s BIH waitlist, interested households must visit MPHA’s online portal at portal.mphaonline.org and apply starting at 12am (midnight) on Tuesday, October 13, 2026. The waiting list will close for new applications at 11:59pm on Thursday, October 15, 2026.
To be eligible for the BIH program, applicants must live in Minnesota, pay more than 30 percent of their household income towards rent, and not currently be served by a federally funded Section 8 program. Additionally, applicants must be willing to live in Minneapolis, as MPHA’s BIH vouchers cannot be used elsewhere.
It is important to note that applying to the agency’s BIH waiting list during the open period does not guarantee the applicant a spot. Rather, it enters their application into a lottery for a chance to be added to the waiting list. There is no advantage to applying early. Households with children under 18 years old and households at or below 30 percent AMI will be prioritized when setting waitlist order.
Applicants needing assistance completing the application or applicants who need a reasonable accommodation, free language assistance, or who require the information in an alternative format, are encouraged to submit a request in advance of the waitlist opening via email at bih@mplspha.org or phone at 612-342-1480. The application can be translated using the built-in Google Translate feature. Any requests for special accommodation must be received by no later than 12pm on Tuesday, October 13, 2026.
To ensure a smooth application process, MPHA encourages interested households to set up their account in RentCafe before October 13. To do so:
- Visit this link: https://portal.mphaonline.org/
- Click “Applicant Login”
- Click “Click here to register”
- Select “I do NOT have a registration code”
NOTE: The Bring It Home waitlist will not be available to apply until 12am (midnight) on Tuesday, October 13, 2026. The waiting list will close for new applications at 11:59pm on Thursday, October 15, 2026.
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*This BIH waiting list is distinct from the federally funded Housing Choice Voucher waitlist. The federally funded Housing Choice Voucher waitlist is not currently open for applications.
