Families struggling to afford rent in Bloomington, Minnesota are getting access to a new pool of 70 rental assistance vouchers through a state program designed to fill a gap that has left millions of Americans waiting years for federal housing help.
Bloomington's Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) is now seeking property owners to partner on the vouchers, funded through Minnesota's Bring It Home Rental Assistance Program. The program is a state-level response to the chronic underfunding of the federal Section 8 system: nationally, only about one in four households eligible for federal rental assistance actually receives it, and HCV waitlists in Minnesota routinely stretch years or are closed entirely.
The vouchers are modeled on the federal Housing Choice Voucher program. Participating tenants pay roughly 30% of their income toward rent, and the subsidy covers the rest. Priority goes to households earning at or below 30% of the area median income that include children under 18. Households up to 50% AMI are eligible.
Bring It Home was created during the 2023 Minnesota legislative session as part of the largest housing investment in state history, roughly $1 billion. It is funded through state appropriations and a new 0.25% metro-area sales tax dedicated to housing that took effect in October 2023, generating an estimated $150 million or more each year across the seven-county Twin Cities region. Minnesota Housing awarded Bloomington's HRA a two-year grant to administer the program locally.
The timing reflects an urgent need. Family homelessness in Minnesota hit record highs in 2023 and 2024, according to Wilder Research, with children making up roughly a third of the sheltered homeless population. Bloomington, despite its reputation as a relatively prosperous suburb and home to the Mall of America and Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, has a large low-wage service workforce and has seen rents climb sharply over the past five years alongside the rest of the metro.
Unlike traditional tenant-based vouchers that follow a renter from unit to unit, these are project-based vouchers, meaning the subsidy is tied to a specific unit. That structure gives landlords and developers a guaranteed rent stream, which has become increasingly important for making affordable housing projects financially viable amid rising interest rates. Both existing apartment buildings and new construction are eligible.
Bloomington's HRA was eligible to apply for Bring It Home funds in part because it already operates a federally funded HCV program. The state restricted the first round of grants to existing housing authorities to move money out quickly. The full proposal details are posted on Bloomington's bid portal. Formal awards are expected in July or August 2026.
