A Fair Shot at a Place to Call Home

Affordable housing isn’t an abstract issue in our district. It’s something I hear about again and again while knocking doors. Families are working hard, but too many are being priced out of the communities they call home.

That’s why I support legislation that would keep private equity firms from buying up single-family homes and limit how many homes large corporations can own. Starter homes should be places where families put down roots — not investments for Wall Street firms to buy up and rent back to us at a markup.

We also need to protect people who live in manufactured home communities. Manufactured homes are some of the most affordable housing left in our area, but residents can own their home while having little control over the land underneath it. I’ve heard from people in our district who have watched large investors buy their park and raise lot rents. The Manufactured Home Park Residents’ Bill of Rights would give residents better notice and a real opportunity to purchase their community before it’s sold out from under them.

And in rural Minnesota, we shouldn’t talk about housing as though building new subdivisions is our only option. We already have homes worth saving. State grants and low-interest loans can help families and communities rehab older homes with failing septic systems, outdated wiring, poor insulation, and other expensive repairs. Fixing the housing we already have can be faster, more affordable, and better for our communities than starting from scratch.

Finally, our small cities need practical tools to grow. That means giving local leaders more flexibility to finance streets, sewer, water, and other infrastructure needed for housing development. Small towns shouldn’t be expected to have a big-city tax base before they’re allowed to grow one.

Housing policy should have a simple goal: make it possible for people who work here to afford to live here — and keep our communities in the hands of the people who call them home.