Star Tribune
For some St. Paul tenants, rent control falls short
Sumeya Mohamed checked her mail in June and found a postcard from the city of St. Paul.
“I thought it was junk mail at first,” the 22-year-old said.
Instead, it was bad news: Mohamed’s landlord had applied for an exception from the city’s rent stabilization ordinance and gotten permission to raise rents up to 26%, more than $400 a month for her family’s three-bedroom unit.
St. Paul voters passed the Midwest’s first rent-control policy in 2021, to much fanfare from tenants. But in the year since the law took effect, hundreds are seeing their rents increase at rates beyond the 3% annual cap they supported.
Last fall, the City Council made sweeping changes to the law voters approved, so it no longer applies to the estimated one-third of St. Paul’s total 78,000 rental units that are new or affordable. In addition, the city has approved more than 200 requests for rent increases above 3%, according to data from the Department of Safety and Inspections (DSI) that includes requests for both individual units and entire buildings.
And, even if a landlord doesn’t get approval to raise rents higher than 3%, there’s little the city can do about it.
“Criminal citation is our only tool as far as an enforcement action right now,” DSI Director Angie Wiese said. “When you only have one tool, and that tool is a really giant hammer that you have to lift before you can use it, that’s hard.”
That’s been frustrating for tenants like Mohamed, who learned her landlord’s requested rent increase was approved less than a month after she and a handful of neighbors filed a lawsuit against the owners and managers of the Haven of Battle Creek. The suit alleges they are aiming to displace the property’s large Muslim Somali population through a mass renovation, which is simultaneously exposing tenants to hazards and being used to justify rent hikes.
Attorneys for the Haven of Battle Creek did not respond to a request for comment.
The nonprofit Housing Justice Center, which represents the tenants, filed a rent control complaint with the city months ago. Mohamed said she and others have met with city staff and elected officials about their concerns.
“It feels like a slap in the face,” she said of the decision to approve the rent increase, which she plans to appeal. “The first thing I said when I saw the mail was: What was the point of the rent stabilization ordinance? Why did we vote on this if it’s not going to be enforced?”
Rising costs
The average rent in St. Paul grew 4.4% between 2022 and 2023, according to first-quarter data from Marquette Advisors, which surveys roughly a quarter of the city’s rental units. The survey only includes market-rate buildings and does not track senior rentals. In the same period, Minneapolis rents rose 2.5% on average.
“When a rent increase happens, people in St. Paul are expecting 3% or less. That’s the talking point that’s come out,” said Eric Hauge, executive director of HOME Line, a nonprofit that provides free legal advice to Minnesota tenants. “And then we unfortunately have to go through, ‘Well, it’s not that simple.'”
Tenant advocates who crafted the original ordinance said from the start that landlords should be able to request an increase above 3% if they can prove it’s needed. But as the economy has continued to experience the ripple effects of the pandemic, including supply-chain bottlenecks and high inflation, Wiese said it’s rare for the city to deny a request.
“Utility costs are going up. Insurance costs are going up. Property taxes are going up,” said Joe Collins, CEO of Housing Hub, which manages 1,500 St. Paul rental properties. “People treat us like we’re billionaires, like we’re getting rich, but the rental game is tough.”
Since rent control took effect, Housing Hub has been raising rents 3% across the board and delaying some capital work. In a handful of cases where “the numbers aren’t working,” Collins said the company applied for an increase using the city’s self-certification process, a quicker option for landlords seeking to raise rents up to 8%.
“Even that’s quite a bit of admin work,” he said. Plus, it can draw outrage and appeals from tenants.
Appeal attempts
Rachael Waters and Bailey Miracle said they desperately wanted to move out of their duplex in the Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood after two years plagued by wasps, mice, hostile neighbors and an aggressive pit bull.
For financial reasons, the couple decided to stick it out one more year. Then they learned Housing Hub was planning to raise their monthly rent from $1,071 to $1,160.
Weeks after submitting an appeal and paying a $25 filing fee, the couple arrived at City Hall for a hearing. They told city staff that police and fire inspectors did little to respond to calls about some of the problems they experienced. The property already had one complaint under city review.
But staff reported that a preliminary financial analysis showed Housing Hub could have raised Waters’ and Miracle’s rent 25% — triple the amount requested.
Collins, who attended the two-hour hearing and disputed some of the tenants’ maintenance claims, offered to let the couple vacate the unit on their own time, without the 60-day notice typically required. Though the city’s decision on the rent hike is not yet final, Waters left the hearing room feeling jaded about local government — and the rent stabilization law.
“These people aren’t working for the citizens or the tenants of St. Paul, trying to make sure that their rent doesn’t go higher,” Waters said. “They’re literally collecting money from us to come in and fight the automatic approval that the landlords get.”
Limited enforcement
St. Paul has heard almost a dozen appeals from tenants so far, and many have expressed similar sentiments, demanding forensic analysis of landlords’ balance sheets.
But the city has limited resources and says it’s sometimes not worth diving deep into financial line items if a requested rent increase is justified by one or two big factors, like inflation or property taxes. It budgeted about $717,000 for rent stabilization in 2023, and Wiese said she does not plan to ask for an increase in 2024.
Though the city and tenant advocates said brazen violations of the law appear rare, Wiese said DSI “would need a pretty significant case” to take a landlord to criminal court. They first send educational letters to properties out of compliance, and could make calls or visits as a next step.
There is a desire “to have more tools in the toolbox,” Wiese added. For instance, city leaders sought the ability to impose administrative fines in 2021, but the proposal never passed.
Tenants also have the option to go to court to enforce their rights under the rent control ordinance, though city staff and tenant advocates said they are not aware of any St. Paul renters who have done so — perhaps out of fear of retaliation, advocates say.
“Right now, tenants are being hung out to dry,” said Daniel Suitor, a housing attorney for HOME Line. “They’re the ones that have to do it all, and they’re the ones with all the downsides.”
Debate continues
Still, advocates are optimistic about the future for St. Paul tenants.
“There are the folks who’ve had to fight for their rights under this ordinance,” said Margaret Kaplan, president of the Housing Justice Center. “But for the vast majority of people, they just have a set of rights now that they didn’t have before — and it’s working pretty well for them.”
Rebecca Gaida is one of those tenants. Before her lease ended earlier this year, Gaida received notice that her rent would increase 3% in accordance with city law.
“I’m in a union,” she said. “My contract is settled for the next three years, and I know that my wages will increase about 3% for the next three years. I love that it’s all predictable.”
The discussion of rent control is likely to continue as the November election approaches. All seven council seats are on the ballot.
“I think rent stabilization has really generated a huge amount of conversation about what people in St. Paul want out of our housing system, what we want our communities to look like,” said Meg Daly of the Minnesota Youth Collective, which organizes young voters. “I just think overall, it’s been such a powerful thing to watch.”
When the Minnesota Supreme Court this week declined to hear an appeal by the University of St. Thomas regarding the environmental impact of its new hockey/basketball arena under construction, neighbor and arena foe Dan Kennedy said the “ethical” thing for the university to do was stop construction until neighbor concerns are addressed.
Not going to happen, university officials said Thursday.
While a public review of a revised Environmental Assessment Worksheet continues through Nov. 7, construction of the 5,000-seat Lee and Penny Anderson Arena continues. In an e-mail Thursday, a university spokesman said the arena is expected to be completed in fall 2025.
“The University of St. Thomas is aware of the Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision to deny its petition to appeal and is reviewing the potential impacts of this decision,” an emailed statement from St. Thomas said. “Last week, the City of St. Paul published an updated EAW for public comment, and that process will continue. Construction of the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena will also continue, as permitted by law.”
But Kennedy said he believes that decision is not only wrong, but illegal. Because the state Court of Appeals this summer ruled the project’s first environmental review was inadequate, its site plans and building permits are invalid, said the president of Advocates for Responsible Development.
“We need somebody to specifically tell the University of St. Thomas that they must comply with the law,” Kennedy said. “This is an institution of higher learning, with a law school. They should comply with the law.”
Kennedy said he thought the Minnesota Court of Appeals had insisted on exactly that. In August, the appellate court ordered the city and university to conduct a new Environmental Assessment Worksheet. The previous assessment didn’t do enough to study the arena’s potential harm to the neighborhood’s parking, traffic and air quality, the court ruled.
“The reason why is that more sunlight in the morning time helps reinforce waking up, and having less light in the evening is less stimulation,” he said. “So when we’re winding down, preparing for sleep, having fewer hours of sunlight in the evening can help promote that process of falling asleep.”
Akingbola acknowledges that it can be sad to walk out of work or school when it’s already dark out, but in the long run, standard time is the way to go.
The U.S. already tried daylight savings year round in 1974
Despite the medical advice, there have been calls in recent years to make daylight savings time permanent.
Sen. Mary Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake, tried to pass a bill as recently as 2021 to make daylight savings time permanent, but it did not pass the Legislature.
The U.S. tried once before. According to Minnesota Star Tribune archives, due to an energy crisis, President Richard Nixon passed a law in January 1974 that made daylight savings a year-round thing.
A month into it, the Minneapolis Tribune ran an article saying there were calls to reverse the decision because there were more accidents in the pre-dawn darkness, particularly involving school children waiting for the bus. Under daylight savings time in January, sunrise wasn’t until well after 8 a.m. in Minnesota.
Karl-Anthony Towns may be in New York City, but his heart is in Minnesota.
On Wednesday night, Towns had some sweet seats for a Billie Eilish show at Madison Square Garden with his partner, Jordyn Woods, when she caught him watching the Timberwolves play the Chicago Bulls in a preseason game on his phone. Her video, posted to her Instagram story, made rounds on social media Thursday.
In the video, flames are literally spewing out from Eilish’s stage, lights are flashing all around and others in the crowd are head bobbing. And there is Towns, holding his phone in both hands and muttering to himself as the Timberwolves are down 88-75 late in the third quarter in a meaningless game.
“I promise he was enjoying the concert,” Woods wrote in the video’s caption.
The Wolves would go on to lose that game, 125-123. A nail-biter.
Towns’ trade to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle and others stunned the NBA world and all of Minnesota, where he was a beloved player for nine seasons and a leader on a team rapidly ascending toward championship contention.
“It was a lot of emotions,” Towns said. “Some amazing moments and times in nine years of my life in Minnesota, a place that I’ve called home. Guys who are not just teammates to me but brothers. We were like brothers. It definitely was a wild day, definitely coming to work.”
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