Minneapolis, St. Paul started paying rent aid after Metro Surge. Here's how it's going

Josie Albertson-Grove, Star Tribune on May 23, 2026

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St. Paul and Minneapolis have both started spending money allocated for emergency rental assistance during Operation Metro Surge.

Out of $1.4 million allocated by St. Paul, the city has paid out $150,000 since April 1, when the program opened. That’s just over 10%, in part because the program caps payments at $75,000 per month total.

Minneapolis set aside $2 million to help renters, and so far has spent $300,000, or 15% of the allocation, since its program started on April 20.

At the height of Operation Metro Surge, leaders in both cities were concerned that the federal immigration crackdown would lead to evictions because so many people were afraid to leave their homes.

While eviction filings and judgments so far this year are not above the record-high levels set in 2025, Hennepin County’s Will Lehman, area manager for homelessness prevention, said eviction filings did not increase during the surge. Evictions were prevented, he said, in large part by grassroots fundraising efforts, known as mutual aid. But he said that money appears to be drying up.

The city funds are beginning to take the place of mutual aid. St. Paul opened applications April 1, and Minneapolis started accepting applications April 20. Both programs send payments directly to landlords once renters’ applications are approved.

Both cities require applicants to show they have low incomes, at or below 30% of the area’s median income. Neither city requires residents to show they were directly impacted by Operation Metro Surge.

St. Paul’s average applicant is in their mid-40s, according to data provided by the city. Black St. Paulites account for the largest share of applicants, at more than 40% of all applications received, and white people have accounted for about a quarter of applications in St. Paul. About 5% of applicants identified as Hispanic or Latino, and Asian applicants accounted for less than 5% of requests. Just over a tenth of applicants did not list a race or ethnicity in their applications.

St. Paul does not have enough people working on the rental assistance program to actively connect with immigrant communities most impacted by Metro Surge, said Jules Atangana, St. Paul’s housing director. But he said he hopes that once the city has hired more staff, they will be able to spend some of their time on outreach.

In Minneapolis, 90% of the residents served are households of color, according to Hennepin County, including 78% who identified as Black. Out of all the households to receive aid from the Minneapolis program, 9% identified as Hispanic or Latino.

Since applications opened April 20 in Minneapolis, $300,000 has been spent to prevent 70 evictions. The average award is more than $4,200, which is more than the maximum payment allowed under the St. Paul program.

Hennepin County is administering the Minneapolis funds with six nonprofits that already work with the county and serve low-income renters and the immigrant and Indigenous communities.

Of the six nonprofits, three have paid residents’ rents from the money Minneapolis set aside for rental assistance in the wake of the surge.

CLUES, a group that serves mostly Latino residents, has paid $45,000 in rents, according to the county. Isuroon, a group that works primarily with Somali residents, has paid $95,000. The Metro Indian Women’s Resource Center, which works with Indigenous residents, has paid $155,000.

The county has yet to process any payments that have come through the other three nonprofits, Agate Housing & Services, Community Mediation & Restorative Services, and Tenant Resource Connections.

The funding earmarked for rental assistance during the immigration crackdown went to a relatively new program that St. Paul started in 2025.

St. Paul has only been accepting applications on the first and second days of each month. The city cannot process applications every day like Hennepin County does, because of limited staff, said Atangana. The city is working to hire two staffers but right now has only one person working part-time on the rental aid program.

On April 1 and 2, St. Paul received 262 applications for aid, totaling $772,884. On May 1 and 2, the city received 144 applications, totaling $410,606. The average request is about $2,800. The city limits payments to $3,500 per household.

By design, St. Paul is fulfilling only 25 requests each month. Thus far, the city has helped a total of 50 households, with $150,000 out of the $1.4 million allocated. Recipients are chosen by lottery.

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