On November 1, MPHA added 1,500 households to its new state-funded Bring It Home (BIH) voucher waitlist. These households were among the 4,501 applications MPHA received over three days when the agency opened its tenant-based BIH waitlist application last month. Applications were entered into a lottery to determine which households were placed into the 1,500 waitlist spots. Households with children under 18 years old and households at or below 30 percent Area Median Income were provided priority placement on the waitlist. Agency staff anticipate beginning to issue the first 300 vouchers in the coming weeks as the selected households complete the necessary documentation.
Of the 1,500 households added to the waitlist, 51 percent are families with kids (18 years or younger). The average self-reported annual earned income is $18,618. Of those on the waitlist, 61 percent identified as Black, 19 percent identified as White, and 13 percent identified as multiple races. Of the households on the waitlist, 74 percent identified a female as head of household. Additionally, 27 percent reported having a family member with a disability.
Checking Waitlist Status
As of November 1, households who successfully applied for tenant-based BIH vouchers can log on to RentCafe to check whether their application was added to the waitlist. If the status is marked “On List,” the application has been placed on the waiting list. If the status is marked “Removed,” the applicant was not placed on the waiting list through the lottery-style selection.
Importantly, the first set of selected households from the waitlist have received notice and instructions for completing intake via email and mail. Completing this paperwork within ten business days is required to stay on the waitlist, confirm eligibility, and ultimately receive a voucher. If a household completes the intake paperwork and meets all the requirements for a BIH voucher, they will be issued a voucher.
If a household fails to complete their intake within ten business days, they will be removed from the waitlist and will have to wait for the next opening to have a chance for a voucher. Exceptions can be made for reasonable accommodations. If a household is missing documents from their intake paperwork, they are provided ten business days to submit the necessary documentation. If a household completes the intake and is determined to be ineligible for a BIH voucher, they are notified and removed from the waitlist.
Households on the waitlist are encouraged to ensure their contact information and mailing address on MPHA’s RentCafe portal is accurate and up to date. The agency conducts annual check-ups for those on its waitlist, removing individuals and families who are unresponsive to the agency’s repeated inquiries to ensure accurate information. Individuals and families on the waitlist are strongly encouraged to promptly respond to periodic email/physical mail/phone call inquiries from MPHA.
On occasion, individuals who otherwise remain eligible for MPHA’s BIH waitlist are removed from the waiting list because of an inability for agency staff to contact them. If/when this happens, these residents have one year to contact MPHA to reclaim their spot on the waitlist.
Additionally, as households are called up from the waitlist, MPHA staff verify they still qualify as they may have experienced changes of income or household composition (ex. children move out) since being added to the waitlist. Other times, households increase their earned income and are no longer eligible for the income-restricted program, so they are removed from the waitlist and the next household on the waitlist would be called.
About Bring it Home (BIH)
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 is using for both tenant- and project-based programs. Minnesota Housing and MPHA finalized the necessary funding agreement earlier this year, enabling MPHA to begin administering BIH this past summer.
In August, MPHA began offering BIH vouchers to households on its existing federal Housing Choice Voucher waitlists. Following that work, MPHA successfully opened its tenant-based BIH voucher waitlist to the public in October—the first time MPHA had accepted public applications for any tenant-based housing assistance voucher since 2019.
Shortly after the BIH tenant-based voucher waitlist closed on October 15, MPHA issued its project-based voucher (PBV) Request for Proposals (RFP) for property owners and developers to apply for the new state-funded rental assistance. The agency estimates having enough funding available to help partners preserve and produce up to 250 units of deeply affordable housing across Minneapolis. Interested property owners, builders, and housing developers should review the BIH PBV RFP and follow the instructions to submit proposals between November 2 and December 18.
