HousingLink

HousingLink believes every Minnesotan deserves a chance to move Beyond Backgrounds...

Your donation today makes it possible for HousingLink to help renters with criminal, credit, and rental history barriers find a place to live.

HousingLink’s innovative Beyond Backgrounds program benefits renters and reduces the risk for property owners/managers. Thanks to donors like you, since 2022 more than 500 renters with barriers have secured housing with the help of Beyond Backgrounds Financial Assurance.

Beyond Backgrounds serves Minnesota’s most challenged renters. Make a gift today and help us: 

• Educate renters during the search and check in to see how things are going throughout the lease term. 
• Make it easy for renters to find properties that are open to accepting Beyond Backgrounds Financial Assurance.
• Provide Financial Assurance that makes it possible for property owners/managers to rent to people with criminal, credit, and rental history barriers.  

86% of Beyond Backgrounds graduates reported stable housing after completing the program.
92% of property owners say they plan to rent to Beyond Background participants again.

The need is greater than ever... 

Through October 2022, 87,000 Minnesota households were behind on rent, 52% of them with children. Your general operating support for HousingLink helps us provide additional critical community services for Minnesota’s affordable housing market, including:  

• The Region’s Primary Source for Affordable HousingListings: HousingLink’s listings of affordable housing – unique in the region – had more than 1.7 million searches for 22,600 properties listed in 2022. 
• Reliable, Unbiased Research: At HousingLink, we've earned a reputation as housing data and information experts without spin or a political agenda. Our gold-standard reports include the Minneapolis and St Paul Rental Housing Briefs, Twin Cities Rental Revue, Twin Cities Rental Housing Trends, Minnesota Housing Measures, and more!
• Property Owner/Manager Engagement: HousingLink deepens relationships with property owners with consistent engagement and offering interactive Property Owner/Manager Education resources. Through our work, property owners/managers expand their housing vacancies to renters they might otherwise pass over.
  
  
  

Why Support HousingLink?

When people have stable and affordable housing, their incomes rise and they are more likely to move out of poverty and avoid homelessness. Stable housing has other ripple effects across households, including better health outcomes and more consistent schooling, which leads to greater academic achievement.