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Renters’ Credit: The Talking Points

Posted March 1st, 2005

Talking points you should raise when discussing the Renters’ Credit with policymakers or in letters to the editor:

  • The Renters’ Credit is an important source of tax relief and housing assistance for 275,000 low and moderate-income tenants across Minnesota. The median income for renters in Minnesota is $30,600/year, while the median income for all Minnesotans is $68,000/year.1

  • 29% of Renters’ Credit recipients are seniors or disabled. In 17 rural counties, this percentage is 50% or greater.2

  • Renters continue to struggle to find affordable housing. Renters are no better off financially today than they were several years ago. Incomes for low and moderate- income people have stagnated due to the recession and slow economic recovery.3 Rents have similarly stagnated, but at historically high levels.

  • Low vacancies in the late 1990s through 2001 drove rents to historically high levels across Minnesota:

    • Twin Cities Metro Area. The 2001 Legislative Auditor’s report demonstrated the mismatch between housing costs and wages when they found that during the 1990s, the average rent increased 34% in the Twin Cities area, while median renter income grew only 9 percent.4

    • Greater Minnesota. Renters in Greater Minnesota faced similar affordability challenges. The percentage of renters who could not afford the rent for a typical two-bedroom apartment shot up to 50% in 2000.5

  • Currently, there are few choices in the rental market for low-income people, and job prospects are bleak. HousingLink found that, on average, in 2004 there were only 7 two-bedroom units available per month in the metro area with rents affordable to people earning less than $20,700 ($9.95/hour).6 The median wage for all job vacancies in Minnesota is at $10.00/hour while the wage needed to afford a typical two-bedroom apartment in Minnesota is $15.07.7

  • Renters cannot afford to absorb a cut to the Renters’ Credit. Many renters have come to rely on their Renters’ Credit as an important part of their budget. Some of the expenses renters count on to meet their basic needs include: covering costs of delayed dental care, school clothes and supplies for their children, car repairs, catching up on bills, and prescription drugs.


    1. “Out of Reach: 2004,” National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2004 [back]
    2. “Who Receives the Renters’ Credit?” Minnesota Budget Project, February 2005 [back]
    3. “Wage Outlook in Minnesota, Labor Day 2004,” JobsNOW Coalition and Minnesota Budget Project, September 2004 [back]
    4. “Affordable Housing,” Office of the Legislative Auditor, 2001 [back]
    5. “Out of Reach: 2000,” National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2000 [back]
    6. HousingLink, February 2005 [back]
    7. MN DEED, 2004, and NLIHC, 2004 [back]
    This article was published in the March 2005 issue of The Homeless Report. Please contact the Coalition if you would like any additional information about this article, or if you have suggestions for future newsletter articles.