General Occupancy – Ages 18-49

MPHA owns and operates nearly 6,000 rental units through public housing buildings and deeply affordable housing developments located across all neighborhoods in Minneapolis. Of those, over 5,000 are high-rise units for 1- and 2-person households.

The application process for general occupancy housing is outlined below.

Eligibility

To be eligible for housing, you must comply with the below. For details on eligibility, please see our current Statement of Policies.

  • 1
    1- or 2-person household
  • 2
    Head of household is 18-49 years of age
  • 3

    Head or co-head of household is receiving Social Security Income, Social Security Disability Income or has a documented disability

  • 4
    Household income cannot exceed 80% of the Area Median Income
  • 5
    Each household member must have a social security card, be an eligible citizen or have eligible non-citizen status, or be a mixed-status family
  • 6
    Each household must pass a criminal history screening (simply having a criminal history does not disqualify you)

Pre-Application

Pre-applications for applicants are done exclusively online through MPHA’s RentCafé Portal. Applicants will need to register for an account on MPHA’s RentCafé Portal and complete the pre-application process (a valid email address and full social security number are needed).

  • Open the MPHA RentCafé Portal website on a device with internet.
  • Click “Applicant Login” in the upper right corner of the page.
  • Click the red underlined linked text reading “Click here to register” to begin the registration process.
  • Fill out the form completely. The portal will confirm the registration was successful and you can begin the pre-application process.
  • Once you have completed your pre-application, an email confirmation will be sent.
  • Social Security numbers for each applicant household member
  • Dates of birth for each applicant household member (birth certificate)
  • Value of all household assets (ie: bank accounts, investments, real estate, etc.)
  • Total monthly income of the household (includes all household members)
  • Source of all income (wages, pensions, TANF, and other sources)
  • Call: 612-342-1451 (8:00 AM – 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday)
  • Email: MPHAapplications@mplspha.org
  • Visit: MPHA’s office at 1001 Washington Ave. N., Minneapolis, MN 55401 (8:00 AM – 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday)

Intake

After three business days, you may log into your MPHA RentCafé Portal to view your status. If approved, you will be added to the existing waitlist. If your pre-application is rejected due to ineligibility, you will receive notice via email.

MPHA will periodically notify applicants via email and mail asking to update their personal information on the MPHA RentCafé Portal. Applicants that fail to update their information by the deadline provided will be removed from the waitlist.

When your name is at the top of the waitlist, you will receive a notification to your email (email listed in your portal) and mailed letter (mailing address listed on your portal), to come in for an intake appointment. Your placement into a unit will be conditional on the approval of your full application, criminal background screening, preference points, rental housing references, and availability of units. If your application is not deemed eligible, your application will be denied, and you may contest the denial by requesting an appeal.