Frey vetoes second effort to extend Mpls. pre-eviction period

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey vetoed the second attempt by the Minneapolis City Council to give tenants more time to pay rent in the aftermath of Operation Metro Surge, which has pushed immigrant families into housing instability.

Currently, housing providers are required to give renters in Minneapolis 30 days to come up with money to pay their rent before filing an eviction case against them, which is called a pre-eviction notice period. The City Council voted last week to increase that timeframe to 45 days through the end of August.

During the federal operation, many immigrants sheltered at home and did not go to work because they feared being detained by federal immigration agents. As a result, many are struggling to pay rent. Supporters of the ordinance said the measure will give renters more time to access rental assistance, mutual aid or another paycheck to avoid an eviction case in court. 

Other council members, housing providers, and Frey have voiced concern that giving residents more time to pay rent will push them into more debt. In his veto letter on Thursday, Frey wrote that rental assistance is the best solution to support renters. 

“The City of Minneapolis has a longer pre-eviction notice period than most cities in the country,” Frey wrote in his veto letter. “I am not convinced that more time will result in improved outcomes.”

The city has allocated $3.8 million in emergency funds, and the Wilson Foundation agreed to match another $3 million.

Rental assistance at the state level to help immigrant renters due to the surge has stalled at the Legislature. A bill that would allocate $40 million in rental assistance passed the Senate, but is unlikely to pass a divided House. 

“This would have been a tremendous relief for all families, as we would have more time to apply for rental assistance without facing the threat of eviction,” said Alibella Rodriguez, a member of Inquilinxs Unidxs por Justicia (United Renters for Justice) in a statement. “Instead, the Mayor’s veto is a terrible blow to all families, leaving us vulnerable to losing our homes through eviction — homes that served as the greatest refuge we had during the occupation.”

The 45-day pre-eviction notice period ordinance passed with a 8-5 vote. Nine votes are needed to override a mayoral veto. The council will likely vote on overriding the veto at their next meeting on May 7.

This is not the first time the council has tried to extend the pre-eviction notice period.

Last month, Frey vetoed the council’s vote to increase the pre-eviction notice period from 30 to 60 days. The council failed to override that vote. Council members brought forward an ordinance with a shorter time period hoping it would gain more support. 

“We’re looking at a mere 15 days,” Council Member Aurin Chowdhury said at a news conference last week. “We changed the policy, we compromised, and it was so consequential, it was worthy of us taking up another cycle to bring it back.”

The St. Paul City Council unanimously approved temporarily extending the city’s pre-eviction notice period to 60 days last month.

According to data from the tenant advocacy group Home Line, eviction filings in Minneapolis increased by 3.4% in the first quarter of the year compared to the average between 2023 and 2025. Housing advocates have said that mutual aid efforts have likely helped keep many renters in their homes for now. 

The city will be rolling out more than $6 million in rental assistance to help those affected by the surge. Information about how to access the Minneapolis specific funding can be found here. The Minneapolis funding does not require an eviction case to be filed against the tenant already. Funding is also available through Hennepin County, but an eviction case is required.