Minnesota resettlement agencies call on landlords to open homes to refugees

Twin Cities resettlement agencies are urging more Minnesota landlords to join a network of property owners who provide shelter to refugees. 

The number of refugees arriving in Minnesota has significantly increased, and so has the cost of rent, according to resettlement agencies. Oftentimes, agencies need to quickly find and furnish rental units for refugees that are safe, affordable and close to public transit. 

Several agencies are teaming up to host a webinar Monday to get landlords on board with providing affordable rental units to meet that demand. The Minnesota Council of Churches, Arrive Ministries, Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota and the International Institute of Minnesota are partnering for the event.

“The point of this landlord outreach forum is to get more awareness about our programs, to show them that our clients are vetted by government agencies, they come here to work, they come here to start their new lives,” said Evgenia Kaufman, the Minnesota Council of Churches’ refugee housing coordinator.

Sometimes, agencies have less than a week’s notice to find housing for refugees, said Ben Walen, the council’s director of refugee services. 

“Other times we’re given a couple of days,” he said. “In the whole scheme of things, it’s fairly short.” 

Monday’s informational event is geared towards landlords across Minnesota. 

Why should landlords rent to refugees?

President Joe Biden announced in September that his administration plans to admit no more than 125,000 refugees into the country in the next fiscal year.

Last year, 100,000 refugees were resettled in the United States, the largest annual number in the last three decades. Minnesota agencies say those numbers trickle down to the local level. 

In the last fiscal year, Arrive Ministries housed 500 refugees, the highest number resettled through their program since the mid-2000s, said Hannah Norris, Arrive’s housing resource coordinator. 

The Council of Churches helped house 950 refugees so far this fiscal year, more than double the number from last year, Kaufman said. 

Local agencies said they are planning to house more refugees next fiscal year. 

One landlord’s experience.

Sai Vue, who has been a landlord for about 15 years, rented to refugees for the first time last February, a Hmong-Vietnamese family that was looking for a new rental after their first one fell through. 

The family had recently arrived from Thailand, and one of their relatives found one of Vue’s rental units and reached out to her. 

At first, Vue said she was “a little bit nervous” about renting to the family. But, she said, she was reassured when she learned that a resettlement agency was working with the family.  

“They work so hard… and they want to have a good future for their kids and that’s why they come here,” Vue said of the refugee family. 

Vue, who is Hmong, and her husband are immigrants themselves. She arrived in the United States when she was three years old. Providing another Hmong immigrant family their first home in Minnesota was a “full circle” moment, she said. 

“It’s a total culture shock for them, so they’re trying to adjust,” Vue said of her tenants. “And having refugees as tenants, they’re much more mindful of everything than regular tenants, which I think is very humbling.”

She noticed that the family asked her more questions than other tenants about doing things around the house, such as gardening in the backyard. 

She advises other landlords who want to rent to refugees to expect cultural barriers, and encourages them to learn about tenants’ backgrounds, practices and boundaries.

How housing is picked and prepared for refugees.

Kaufman said landlords are often hesitant to rent to refugees because they require more help than other renters.

Refugees typically are unemployed and don’t have a credit history or important documents, such as a drivers’ license, which can be concerning for landlords.    

“It’s a lot of relationship building that we do with property owners to build comfort for them in renting to people without knowing them in advance,” Walen said.

Resettlement agencies take several steps to prepare refugees as tenants. They receive information about refugees from the federal government before they arrive in the state, and start preparing for their transition. 

Agencies focus on resettling refugees in a house as soon as possible because a permanent address is essential for applying for jobs or registering children for school, Norris said. 

The agencies don’t receive any special treatment in the rental market; they compete with other renters for the same available housing at the same market rates. 

“We’re unfortunately seeing, just like everybody, rents at a higher rate than what would benefit people the most when they first arrive,” Walen said. “The most affordable places aren’t as available, and that’s where it starts to be a challenge.”

The Council of Churches’ guidelines call for paying under $1,450 for a two-bedroom unit, $1,800 for a three-bedroom unit and $2,100 for a four-bedroom unit.  

Agency staffers visit rental units to check if they’re safe, clean and have the basic necessities working properly. Staff and volunteers move in furniture, cleaning supplies, bedding and toys if there are children. Tenants can keep all of the donated items if they move. 

Agencies also teach refugees how to use different appliances in the unit, how to recycle and do laundry, and how to pay rent. They also walk through the lease agreement with the tenant before a lease is signed. 

How resettlement agencies support landlords and refugees. 

Resettlement agencies set up the first contact between landlords and tenants to facilitate communication. 

Agencies also provide the deposit and first month’s rent for tenants, but do not cosign leases between landlords and tenants. Some agencies will cover more than the first month’s rent, but all agencies focus on helping tenants pay their own rent. 

Landlords receive a letter from resettlement agencies outlining the support tenants are expected to receive, including public assistance. 

Case workers and agency staff work with tenants for the first three months of their lease, making regular visits to offer different services, including help applying for jobs.

Most families start paying their own rent after three months, said Michelle Eberhard, the director of refugee services at the International Institute of Minnesota. 

“That’s really the goal of all the things we’re doing in the first few months, because we want our families to be in a really good place when their case management services end,” she said. 

Landlords are welcomed to consult with resettlement agencies to resolve issues with their tenants during the lease period.  

“Refugees are humans, too, and that comes with, sometimes challenges, sometimes successes,” Walen said. “That’s why we try to be there for people so we can bridge that understanding issue.” 

How tenants are prepared for success with their rental units. 

Tenants go through multiple home safety orientations with resettlement agencies to understand how their house functions, from garbage disposal to operating the stove.

Refugees also take pre-arrival orientation classes to familiarize themselves with American culture, and undergo extensive background checks by the federal government.  

“We provide this extra guarantee of support, of additional education to your tenants,” said Lynn Mullin, director of refugee services at Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota. “It’s an extra opportunity to not only help, but also to feel secure.”

One factor in matching refugees with a rental unit is location, and whether the community connects them to relatives or others from the same background. Agencies also look for units that are close to public transit. 

How can landlords get involved?

Landlords who want to rent to refugees can fill out a form with individual agencies or contact them at the links below:

• Arrive Ministries
• Minnesota Council of Churches
• International Institute of Minnesota
• Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota