ST. PAUL, MN –  Today Senate Housing Committee Chair Rich Draheim (R – Madison Lake) released the following statement on two rent control measures passing in Minneapolis and St. Paul:

“Yesterday’s passage of rent control measures in Minneapolis and St. Paul will not resolve our ‘worst in the nation‘ housing crisis. Minnesota’s affordable housing crisis is directly due to a lack of inventory, which reached a historic low in March. No matter the city, rent control means new rental development slows down, housing prices continue to rise, and more Minnesotans are shut out of homeownership. Perhaps most importantly, rental housing providers are not able to meet the needs and requests of their tenants or remain competitive in the market without going through a bureaucratic approval process. That’s bad news for renters and housing providers alike. 

“The Senate passed a measure to close the loophole in state law that allowed Minneapolis and St. Paul to impose rent control. Unfortunately, Governor Walz and House DFL leadership rejected our proposal. Now the legislature needs to decide whether or not we encourage the American Dream and eliminate costly and unnecessary regulations that drive up the cost of every new housing unit in the state.”