Program Updates

General Announcements and Information 

 


1/17/2023

2022 Certificate of Rent Paid forms due January 31
 

Property managers must provide a Certificate of Rent Paid to every renter no later than January 31. Emergency Rental Assistance, including from RentHelpMN, is not counted toward the total rent paid.

2022 CRP Information for Landlords

 
 


11/18/2022

Check processing extension - December 1
 
If you have an open issue about a RentHelpMN check, such as a missing check or incorrect amount, please submit your inquiry no later than Thursday, December 1, 2022. Contact information to submit your inquiry is on this page.
 
 


11/9/2022

Check processing closing November 15
 
The last day to resolve open issues about payments (such as a missing or incorrect payment check, or an adjustment to a payment) is November 15, 2022. If you have a payment question, please contact us via this page.
 
 


9/28/2022

Call Center closing September 30
 
The last day for the RentHelpMN Call Center that is staffed by 211 will be Friday, September 30. After that time, if you have a question about a RentHelpMN payment, a 1099 form, or require other assistance, please contact us via this page.
 
 


2/11/2022

System maintenance this weekend
 
The RentHelpMN system will undergoing maintenance this weekend. There are two periods where the system may be unavailable:
 
  • Friday, February 11, 9:00 PM through Saturday, February 12, 8:00 AM, Central Time.
  • Saturday, February 12, 9:00 PM through Monday, February 14, 8:00 AM, Central Time.
 


1/28/2022

Application Statuses
 
We’ve received some questions about the terms “submitted” and “incomplete” and what those mean for the January 28 application deadline.
 
When someone logs into their RentHelpMN account, they can check the status of their application. There are two statuses that you may see for an application that hasn’t entered the processing stage:
 
  • “Incomplete” status = unsubmitted
  • “Pending Initial Review” status = submitted*
 
An “Incomplete” status application is one that was started, but the applicant didn’t get through all of the steps or answer enough questions to click the “Complete” button at the end. These will be withdrawn after the deadline.
 
A “Pending Initial Review” status application is one where the applicant got through the steps, uploaded or entered at least the minimum amount of information to complete each step, and clicked “Complete” and “OK.” This application is submitted and will be processed after the deadline, even if more information will be sent later or requested during the processing step.
 
Renters applying should make sure their application is in “Pending Initial Review” status to be submitted. Please call 211 if you need help with your application.
 
*The following statuses are also submitted statuses for applications that are in processing: “Requires Applicant Response” “Initial Review” “Declined by Landlord/Property Manager” “Appeal Pending” “Pending Landlord/Property Manager Acceptance” “Pending Renter Acceptance” “Fiscal Correction Requested” “Final Review” “Submitted for Funding” “Payee Verification” “Funding Approved” “Pending Batch (1,2, or 3)” “Payment in Process” “Supervisor Review” and “Direct Pay Applicant”
 
An application showing "Incomplete" status.

An application status showing "Pending" status.


1/26/2022

RentHelpMN application portal experiencing high traffic loads
 
UPDATE: resolved 
 
Heavy traffic on the RentHelpMN application portal in response to yesterday's announcement is causing slow server responses for many users. If you are able, we encourage visiting the site after 4:00 p.m. when traffic may be lighter.
 
If you have already submitted an application, it will continue to be processed.
 


1/25/2022

RentHelpMN application deadline is January 28
 
The RentHelpMN rental assistance program has announced a submission deadline for new applications and re-applications.
 
The deadline to apply for assistance from the statewide RentHelpMN program is Friday, January 28 at 9:00 p.m. If you are behind on rent, you may apply for past-due rent, utilities and up to one month of forward rent.
 
Applications will not be accepted after Friday, January 28 at 9:00 p.m. If you have started an application but have not hit “Complete” and then “OK” on the last page, it will not be processed and cannot be changed after the deadline. If you have already submitted a RentHelpMN application, it will continue to be processed and you do not need to call 211 unless you have an immediate question.
 
Read more, and sign up for updates in our January 25 eNews.


1/7/2022

Program update: assistance for future months
 
Effective January 10, 2022, applicants and re-applicants may request and receive assistance for one future month of rent in addition to any past-due rent owed. The future month is counted from the date the application is submitted. This change does not apply to applications received before January 10.
 
Background:
 
Until now, RentHelpMN has been providing up to three months of future rent expenses for qualified applicants. Paying future rent is a measure to stabilize housing and prevent evictions, and also to reduce the number of times that a household needs to submit an application for assistance.
 
The program guidance states that assistance for future months is dependent on availability of funds.
 
In light of high levels of demand for rental assistance, RentHelpMN is now adjusting how this policy is applied. Limiting future rent assistance to one month will increase the number of households that can be served by rental assistance and extend the availability of funds.
 
Read this and more RentHelpMN news, and sign up for updates in our January 7 eNews.


1/3/2022

COVID-19 may affect staffing levels
 
As the Omicron variant of COVID-19 circulates through the community, our team members have been among those experiencing illness. There have been no significant delays reported at this time, but please be aware that you could experience longer wait times if staffing levels are further impacted.
 


12/21/2021

2021 Certificate of Rent Paid forms available from Minnesota Department of Revenue
 
The Minnesota Department of Revenue has published the Certificate of Rent Paid for 2021. Property managers must provide this form to every renter no later than January 31. Emergency Rental Assistance, including from RentHelpMN, is not counted toward the total rent paid.
 
Download the 2021 CRP.
 


12/17/2021

December eNews included who's who, holiday hours, and when to re-apply
 
The 211-staffed RentHelpMN call center will be closed on the following dates in December and January: December 24 and 25; December 31 and January 1; January 17. Normal RentHelpMN call center hours are Monday – Saturday, 8 AM – 8 PM.
 
Read this and more RentHelpMN news, and sign up for updates in our December 14 eNews.
 


12/2/2021

Website Link; System Maintenance scheduled
 
The RentHelpMN website is up and running, but you may get an error message navigating pages at renthelpmn.org   If so, add “www.” at the beginning of the web address. You may need to do this for each page. This should be a temporary issue.
 
Additional system maintenance for the RentHelpMN application system is scheduled for this weekend. The system is scheduled to be offline from Friday evening, December 3, through Monday morning, December 6. In light of this, 211 RentHelpMN specialists will not be available on Saturday, December 4.
 


11/23/2021

System maintenance and holiday hours; RentHelpMN eNews
 
RentHelpMN will undergo scheduled system maintenance while the 211 and processing teams are closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. The system will be unavailable beginning Thursday night. The system will be back online and 211 and processing teams will return on Monday morning, November 29.
 
Read more RentHelpMN news and sign up for updates in our November 23 eNews.
 


11/18/2021

Additional support for Minnesota renters
 
Governor Walz announced on Tuesday that he would allocate $20 million in American Rescue Plan funds to the RentHelpMN program to prevent eviction and pay property owners and managers for past-due rent incurred by Minnesota renters who have experienced greater than 18 months of hardship due to COVID-19. Current federal limits on Emergency Rental Assistance cap rental assistance at 18 months per household. As the pandemic has extended longer than Congress predicted when the program was created, there are an estimated 7,000 households at risk of exhausting their assistance.
 
The additional aid will be available for rent expenses only. Renters who need additional help with utility costs are encouraged to apply for the Energy Assistance Program through the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
 
RentHelpMN was also recently allocated an additional $7 million to expand its customer service and processing staff to respond to the high demand for emergency rental assistance.
 
Read the full news story to see all ARP allocations.
 


10/15/2021

Scheduled Maintenance Saturday, October 16 - Sunday, October 17
 
Maintenance for system updates is scheduled for Saturday, October 16, beginning at 8:00 PM Central Time and continuing through noon (12:00 PM) on Sunday, October 17.
 
The RentHelpMN application system will not be available during that time.
 
Please make sure you have saved any work you are doing before the system goes offline at 8:00 PM. If you are actively working when the maintenance begins, your work may be lost.
 


10/8/2021

Next Milestone in Eviction Off-Ramp: October 12
 
There is another milestone in the Eviction Off-Ramp that occurs October 12, when property managers can begin filing evictions for people who owe past-due rent. If a renter is behind on rent, they should apply for RentHelpMN as soon as possible and see if they qualify. If they receive a notice of eviction, they can still apply for assistance and potentially halt the eviction action.
 
The legislation states that evictions may not be filed or proceed against a renter who has a pending application for emergency rental assistance. However, if a property owner files a case against a renter with a pending application, the renter still needs to show up for the court date to show they are protected by the law. Minnesota Housing has staff available at many courts to assist renters in proving their application status.
 
For more information on the Eviction Off-Ramp and for legal questions, visit HOMELine at https://homelinemn.org/phaseout/
 


10/6/2021

Updated Program Guide Posted
 
The Minnesota Housing website now has a revised version of the RentHelpMN Program Guide. (clicking the link will download the PDF) The guide includes updates to the policies regarding appeals, re-applications, and requests for rent for a prior dwelling.
 
 


10/5/2021

Rent Assistance for Vacated Units Available October 15
 
Minnesota Housing’s RentHelpMN program will begin accepting applications for vacated unit rent and utility assistance on October 15, 2021.
 
Under the new guidance, the renter must affirmatively request this assistance to remove barriers they face in seeking new housing. If a property manager evicts a tenant, and the tenant declines to seek assistance for rental arrears for the former unit, the program cannot pay those arrears.
 
NOTE: Due to additional requirements, RentHelpMN will not apply this guidance to applications currently in process. If an applicant submitted an application while still residing in the unit and afterwards vacated the unit or was evicted, they must reapply.
 
You can read the full announcement and Frequently Asked Questions by downloading the PDF.
 


10/4/2021

Rent and Utility Help Limited to 18 Months
 
The federal funding for COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance includes limits on the number of months a household can receive assistance for rent and utilities. These are counted separately. Households may receive a maximum of 18 months of assistance in each category.
 
RentHelpMN is currently using funds that allow for 15 months of assistance for rent and 15 months for utilities. Renters who receive assistance from these funds will be able to re-apply for additional months in the next round of funding, to reach the 18 month maximum.
 
At this time, there is no funding available through RentHelpMN beyond that 18 month limit. If you need more than 18 months of rent assistance, we encourage you to call 211 for referral to additional resources.
 
You can also apply for help with your utility bills through the Minnesota Department of Commerce Energy Assistance Program, by calling 800-657-3710 or visiting the Energy Assistance website.
 


9/13/2021

Updated Program Guide
RentHelpMN has adopted some new program guidelines in response to changes released by the Department of the Treasury. These policy changes are effective immediately, though some may take time to be implemented.
 
Some key changes:
  • Clarifies the existing policy allowing renters to self-certify their income information.
  • Adds a new policy to allow back rent to be requested by a renter who has moved to another property. (this will be implemented soon.)
  • Clarifies appeals and limits on re-applying.
  • Clarifies definition of “pending application.”
 
The updated guide is available on the Minnesota Housing website.
 


9/9/2021

Connecting an ACH payment to a renter application:
 
Some banks’ data about ACH transactions will include the Case ID for the renter’s application. If this is included, it will be the second series of numbers as shown. In this example, 4567 is the Case ID.
 
$1,000.00      1/1/21      MN HOUSING FINAN ACH      123-4567-891012      Management Company Name
 
The amount shown on the RentHelpMN dashboard includes all assistance requested, including utilities and other expenses. It does not deduct ineligible or rejected expenses. Therefore, the requested amount displayed may not match the amount of a payment you receive.
 
RentHelpMN will send you a payment notification that details the amount of payment you are sent for each renter. This may not arrive until after your payment is received.
 
If you need to return funds to the program, please use this form.
 


8/31/2021

New statuses added
 
The statuses provided on the online application dashboard reflect the steps being taken by the RentHelpMN team as an application moves through review to final approval or denial. If you are watching this status field to track progress, it may appear that cases are moving back and forth rather than in a linear fashion. The review and approval process may require that some steps are repeated, but that doesn’t necessarily repeat the entire process. All of the applications are moving forward toward completion and approval even if there are some repeated steps in between.
 
We have recently added more status categories to reflect how files are organized. Some of these include “pending batch” and “withdrawn - duplicate.”
 
Pending batch” indicates that a file is in line to be added to a data extract that will be sent to the bank to process payments.
 
Withdrawn-duplicate” is used when there is more than one application from the same applicant. This status will take one of the duplicates our of processing. That means another application for that same renter is moving forward.
 
More status definitions coming soon.
 


8/25/2021

RentHelpMN discourages using a collection agency to recover past due rent for tenants eligible for emergency rental assistance.
 
If an account is sent to collections for past due rent, the RentHelpMN application process becomes more complex. In that instance, the debt may be owned by the collection agency rather than the property owner/manager and the payee could change. The federal rules require sending payment to the owner that has provided a W-9 or directly to the tenant. The rules do not provide for assistance payments to a third party.
 
We encourage property owners to avoid sending past due rent to collections until all other options, including emergency rental assistance, have been exhausted.
 
The online assistance approval form will be updated to reflect this recommendation.
 


7/22/2021

If you are a property manager who needs to return funds to the RentHelpMN program, please use the Return funds form available under the Resources tab on RentHelpMN.org
 


6/3/2021

Payments from RentHelpMN come from a major national bank. Currently, some property managers who have requested EFT/ACH will instead receive a check because the RentHelpMN program’s validation process was not able to confirm a match between the identified recipient bank account and some component associated with the bank account. Our team is working on following up with property owners and managers to get more of you set up for EFT/ACH. For now, because some of the assistance awards are very large, and each bank has their policies regarding the deposits of checks, the recipient banks may place a hold on those funds before releasing them. We are unable to do anything about banks placing holds on the assistance checks.