Housing advocates urge Frey to sign Minneapolis eviction deadline extension
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Housing advocates in Minneapolis are urging Mayor Jacob Frey to sign a measure giving tenants more time to catch up on rent before facing eviction.
The City Council passed the measure last week. It requires landlords to give tenants 60 days’ notice before filing for eviction, instead of 30 days. The extension would expire at the end of July.
Frey has not yet said if he’ll support the policy.
Advocates and council members who voted in favor of the extension say it’ll help residents who missed work out of fear of leaving their home during the federal immigration enforcement operation — and residents who saw a family breadwinner detained.
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“It is always more efficient to prevent eviction, rather than waiting for someone to get evicted then working to rehouse them. It is also way more humane,” council member and policy author Robin Wonsley said at a news conference on Monday.
In a statement, Frey’s office said the mayor is meeting with housing experts this week to get more input.
“Mayor Frey believes the most effective solution is a targeted one, which is why we’re working to get the $1M we recently approved out quickly to help our neighbors,” a spokesperson said in the statement. “Eviction moratoriums or notice extensions are a blunt measure.”
Eviction filings in the city for the first couple months of 2026 are down slightly from the same time period last year, according to data from HOME Line, a legal help service for Minnesota renters.
But HOME Line’s co-executive director Eric Hauge said there’s still an emergency.
“Millions and millions of dollars have gone out in mutual aid,” Hauge said. “That was not true last year.”
Advocates for the policy say mutual aid won’t completely make up for the need. They argue an extension will give people more time to access rent assistance funds — including any additional proposed funding that could come through the state legislature this session.
In public letters to the city council, several affordable housing providers opposed the measure. They said an extension could put tenants further into debt and could squeeze landlords’ already-tight budgets for repairs and maintenance, ultimately hurting residents.
Council member Jamal Osman, who supports the measure, said that’s not a reason to veto the policy.
“What is the solution? Is it eviction?” he said at the Monday press conference. “That’s the only other option.”
Frey has until Wednesday to make a decision on the measure.
