A few weeks ago, a small blurb caught my attention in the Star Tribune. A group of landlords had filed a federal fair housing complaint against the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. It was worth barely a few inches of newsprint, but the small article was so chock full of wonkish housing policy tidbits that I had to dig deeper. What kind of complaint? Who, specifically filed it? And most importantly, could I track down the full complaint document?
Well, the answer to the last question is an affirmative. The complainants' press release can be found here, and here is the full complaint document.
The case alleges that Minneapolis and St. Paul haven't complied with some reporting requirements, and goes on to state that since the Complainants rent predominantly to minorities, each city's housing policies have a disparate effect on people of a protected class. Therefore, neither Minneapolis nor St. Paul should be eligible for federal funds such as Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) or Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). As for who filed the complaint, there are a few infamous bad actors involved, such as...
