Tenants living in St. Paul will soon have more time to pay rent after council members on Wednesday voted to extend the pre-eviction notice period in the city to 60 days.
That extension begins May 14th and lasts through the end of the year.
"The motivating factor here for me is care for those who are most vulnerable in our community, and particularly those who have been impacted by Operation Metro Surge," Council president Rebecca Noecker said. "And I know that those are the same values that are motivating the entire 60-day pre-eviction notice idea."
Noecker says this isn't to let renters off the hook, but to give them time to catch-up after the immigration crackdown by the federal government disrupted schedules, and in some cases prevented people from working.
"To me, this 60-days is not a period of time to prevent rent from being paid," Noecker adds. "It's a period of time to give the time for rent to be paid. And I know that's what we're all saying around this table, but I think it's a really important point."
A similar ordinance passed in Minneapolis, but was eventually vetoed by Mayor Jacob Frey. But the Minneapolis City Council failed to override Frey's veto on Thursday morning.
The council passed the measure earlier this month, citing income losses suffered during Operation Metro Surge particularly among the immigrant community. But the mayor vetoed the ordinance, saying move would only increase housing instability and could end up raising rents or remove rental units from the market.
The mayor says he's in favor of one million dollars that would be used directly for rental assistance to support those who have fallen behind.
The council vote was 7 to 6 in favor of the override, but nine votes were needed.
