Photo: Fox 9 News

By Rob Olson from Fox 9 News - October 12, 2021

When millions of Americans were unable to work because of the COVID-19 shutdown, a ban on evictions went into effect to help those behind on their rent. In Minnesota, those protections end Tuesday. The only exception is for renters who have already applied for rental assistance through the state. 

Tenants with pending rental assistance claims will have protection until June of 2022. Otherwise, the property owner could force them to move out 15 days after sending an eviction notice.    

On Tuesday, Minnesota’s Housing Commissioner Jennifer Ho said 50,000 people have applied for rental assistance so far.

"I’m not closing the door on applications," the commissioner said. "We’ll be open for applications for weeks, probably months to come. We still have quite a bit of money available."

Meanwhile, Rachel Sterling works with HOME Line, a nonprofit that helps tenants know their rights.

"Just about every call that we take, someone has been impacted by COVID-19 in some way, shape or form," she said.

Sterling said a huge thing that renters who have applied for help should know is if they get an eviction notice, they still need to show up for court because the court won’t know their status.

Sterling said many tenants have been confused by the way the eviction moratorium has been phased out.

"It’s been confusing. Usually laws don’t change on a month to month basis, and that’s basically what’s been happening here," she said.

But the bottom line is there is $518 million worth of help in Minnesota, and as of now, there’s plenty left. 

According to Minnesota Housing, after Oct. 12, property managers are able to file evictions for any renters behind on rent. RentHelpMN can help you get caught up on your past due rent, and renters are protected from eviction for nonpayment while an application is pending.

There is no deadline to apply to rent help, but you should apply as soon as you fall behind on payments. You can go to RentHelpMN.org or call 211 to apply.

If you receive an eviction notice, you need to go to court. At court, you can show you have a pending application or access other assistance. If you have legal questions, call Home Line at 866-866-3546 or go to LawHelpMN.org.

To a video of the original report and read related stories, follow this link to the Fox 9 News website. https://www.fox9.com/news/eviction-protections-ending-for-minnesota-renters