"Right to repair" for renters measure on St. Paul ballot this election
In Minnesota's capital city, voters will be asked if renters should have boosted protections that would empower them to fix something broken in their home if property owners don't act.
The question in St. Paul asks if the city should adopt an ordinance giving them a "right to repair." How it would work is tenants would give a 14-day notice to their landlords of what needs to be fixed.
If they don't correct the issue or schedule a repair, renters can do the repair themselves or hire someone who can — and then deduct those costs from the following month's rent.
The price of work and materials cannot exceed $500 or one-half-month's rent, whichever is greater, and receipts are required.
Cole Hanson, coordinator for the Safe Homes Saint Paul coalition that's backing the measure, said renters already have some tools at their disposal, like rent escrow or going to court. But those avenues can take more time, effort and money, which is a barrier for some people.
Renters make up half of the city's residents, according to the most recent U.S. Census survey.
"It just puts another power, another resource, common-sense tool in the hands of everyday tenants," Hanson said.
A similar ballot measure passed with nearly 70% of the vote in Duluth last year. Hanson contends that if passed, many renters won't need to ever invoke the policy.
"Most tenants, most landlords do not have to deal with this. It really is for those edge cases where you have a landlord who's not responding, not doing their job attending to their property," he said. "So as the folks who live there, we've got to keep it up, keep it safe, because we don't want to get injured. We don't want to get harmed if something goes wrong."
Opponents of the right-to-repair effort, like the St. Paul Area Chamber, worry about the impact on development when the city's grappling with economic challenges. B Kyle, the chamber's CEO, wrote in an op-ed that the policy would "get in the way" of growth.
"Saint Paul doesn't need another policy that polls well, campaigns well and fits neatly on a yard sign, only to make it harder to invest, build and expand the city's tax base once the votes are counted," Kyle said.
The proposal comes five years after voters in St. Paul approved rent control, to which the City Council ultimately made changes that watered it down due to similar concerns. An analysis found 88% fewer units were built in the city in 2024 compared to the previous three-year average, according to the Minnesota Reformer.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, in a recent St. Paul housing report, said property owners feel "rent stabilization has had a profound effect on the market."
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