Bring it Home Rental Assistance Availability

Bring it Home rental assistance program

The Bring It Home Rental Assistance Program (BIH) is a new rental assistance program for low-income families across Minnesota. With a Metro HRA BIH voucher, you could pay roughly 30% of your monthly income toward rent. Metro HRA BIH vouchers must be used in Metro HRA’s jurisdiction and are NOT portable to any other housing authority or jurisdiction. 


Requires housing in Metro HRA's jurisdiction

The BIH voucher is NOT a Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) voucher. Metro HRA BIH Vouchers can only be used in Metro HRA’s jurisdiction unlike Housing Choice Vouchers that can be used anywhere. If  want to live in Metro HRA’s jurisdiction, a BIH voucher is  for you. If you do not want a Metro HRA BIH voucher, you will remain on the Housing Choice Voucher waitlist.  


Rental assistance residency and income requirements

To qualify, you must be a Minnesota Resident, have an annual gross household income at or below 50% of the Area Median Income and cannot have federal tenant or project-based assistance. Preference will be given to households with children and incomes at or below 30% AMI.  


Bring It Home Voucher Basics 

The Bring It Home Rental Assistance Program is a new program to create rental assistance for low-income families across Minnesota. Funded by state appropriations and a new metro sales tax for housing, the program will provide rental assistance for cost burdened households with 50% area median income (AMI) or less.  

  • Bring it Home: A Minnesota program that helps low-income individuals and families afford rental housing in a specific housing agency’s service area. 

  • Housing Choice Voucher: A federal program (also known as Section 8) that helps low-income individuals and families afford rental housing across the United States. 

Metro HRA will invite households currently on Metro HRA’s Housing Choice Voucher waitlist to apply for Bring It Home. Only people already on Metro HRA’s Housing Choice Voucher waitlist will be invited to apply for Bring It Home.  

Metro HRA’s waitlist is currently closed. You may visit metrohra.org/waitlist to see information about future waitlist openings. HousingLink.org provides information about other subsidized housing waitlists and openings.  

Metro HRA Bring It Home vouchers can only be used in Metro HRA’s service area.  Metro HRA’s service area includes Anoka, Carver, and suburban Hennepin and Ramsey counties in the Twin Cities region excluding the cities of Richfield, Bloomington, Plymouth, St. Louis Park, St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Minnesota residents who have low incomes and do not currently receive any federal tenant or project-based rent assistance.  

  • Applicants must have gross annual incomes at or below 50% of the Area Median Income (AMI) to qualify. Applicants with gross annual incomes at or below 30% AMI will receive preference for admission. Income limits are updated annually.  

Annual gross income is the total amount of money you earn in a year before any taxes are taken out. 

 

Annual gross income is the total amount of money you earn in a year before any taxes are taken out. 

# of persons in your household 

50% Area Median Income 

30% Area Median Income 

1 

$46,350 

$27,800 

2 

$53,000 

$31,800 

3 

$59,600 

$35,750 

4 

$66,200 

$39,700 

5 

$71,500 

$42,900 

6 

$76,800 

$46,100 

7 

$82,100 

$49,250 

8 

$87,400 

$54,150 
 

Priority for rental assistance will be given to households with children 18 years of age and under and annual incomes of up to 30% of the area median income who are paying more that 30% of their income towards rent. 

Families may rent any type of housing in Metro HRA’s service area. Eligible households pay 30% to 40% of their incomes for rent and tenant paid utilities, and Metro HRA pays the remainder, within established rent guidelines. Metro HRA’s Bring It Home program will use the same payment standards as the Housing Choice Voucher program. View Metro HRA’s payment standards here.  

No. This is an important difference from the Housing Choice Voucher. Metro HRA Bring It Home vouchers can only be used in Metro HRA’s service area. If a Bring It Home participant moves outside of Metro HRA’s service area, they will no longer be eligible for Metro HRA’s Bring It Home program.  

  • Recipients are typically required to: 

  • Pay a portion of their rent. 

  • Follow lease agreements and program rules. 

  • Report any changes to income or household composition. 

The Bring It Home voucher remains available as long as the voucher holder meets eligibility criteria, complies with participant responsibilities and funding is available. 

Differences Between Bring It Home and the Housing Choice Voucher

  • Bring It Home Voucher: Funded by and for Minnesotans, providing financial assistance to low-income families and individuals in Minnesota to make housing more affordable and accessible. 

  • Housing Choice Voucher: A federal program (also known as Section 8) that helps low-income individuals and families afford housing in the private market across the United States. 

  • Bring It Home Voucher: Funded at the state level by Minnesota’s legislature and focuses on local needs. 

  • Housing Choice Voucher: Funded by the federal government, specifically the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). 

  • Bring It Home Voucher: Provides rent assistance for housing units in Metro HRA’s service area with no option to “port” or transfer voucher to different areas, even within Minnesota.  

  • Housing Choice Voucher: Offers nationwide portability, allowing recipients to use their vouchers in other states. 

  • Bring It Home Voucher: Funded by the State of Minnesota through its budget and a new, 0.25% Metro Area sales tax. This means that money is assigned specifically for housing assistance by the state government through appropriations.  

  • Housing Choice Voucher: Funded by the federal government through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Congress provides annual appropriations for rental subsidies that are allocated to local Housing Authorities.  

Property Owners 

Bring It Home is a Minnesota rental assistance program that helps eligible households afford rent in the private market. If you lease to a participating household and your unit is approved, part of the rent is paid through the program and part may be paid by the tenant. 

Yes, the Bring It Home voucher works similarly. The household receives rental assistance, chooses a unit, and the housing agency pays the approved subsidy amount directly to the owner under a Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contract. If you have worked with Metro HRA’s Housing Choice Voucher or Section 8 program, you will find the Bring It Home Voucher very familiar.  

Bring It Home is administered locally by a Program Administrator, such as a housing authority, Tribal housing entity, or approved nonprofit organization. Property Owners will work directly with Metro HRA who is the local administrator for all of Anoka County, Carver County as well as suburban Hennepin and Ramsey Counties. To view the area where Metro HRA is the Program Administrator for Bring It Home, visit here.   

After you approve a Bring It Home Voucher holder, you will be asked to complete a Request for Tenancy Approval. This form lets Metro HRA know the address, rent amount, utilities and Vendor information. Once the unit is approved as affordable for your approved applicant, Metro HRA will complete a Housing Quality Standard (HQS) Inspection. When the inspection passes, Metro HRA will request a copy of the lease and will provide you a Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Contract for signature. Once signed, Metro HRA will send the housing assistance payment directly to the owner each month, according to the contract terms. 

Your tenant will pay a portion of their income towards the rent directly to you. This portion will between 30% and 40% of the family or individual’s income. Tenant will also pay utilities if required by the lease.  

  • Yes, please use the same lease you use for all other tenants. Metro HRA will ask that both you and the tenant sign the lease and that the property owner sign any required tenancy addendums and the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Contract provided by Metro HRA.  

  • On your lease, please include at least the name of the owner and all adult tenants, unit address, terms or the lease, monthly rent to owner (including non-optional fees) and specification of utilities and appliances applied by the owner.  

No, Metro HRA does not screen participants for rental/credit history. Program participant screening and selection is the responsibility of the owner.  The HRA recommends that the owner check references of all rental applicants (assisted and non-assisted) for past rental history.   

  • Yes. A unit must be inspected by the HRA or its Contract Inspector initially to ensure the unit meets Federal Housing Quality Standards (HQS).  The unit must be re-inspected at least biennially.  

  • Starting February 2nd, 2027, HUD has required that inspections standards be updated to the NSPIRE standards. 

Best practice is no, do not have a tenant move in before approval is complete. If a tenant moves in before the unit is approved by Metro HRA and the inspection has passed, the tenant will be responsible for 100% of the unit rent until the approval process is complete.  

A Housing Quality Standard (HQS) Inspection either “passes” or “fails”.  Any item that does not meet the standards will cause the unit to fail.  The owner will be notified, in writing, if the unit “fails”.  The owner determines whether they are willing to make the repairs and informs the program participant and the Housing Authority of their decision.  If the owner elects not to make the repairs, the household must choose another unit to receive assistance. 

It is the policy of the HRA to send rent payments on the last working day of the month with the intention that the owner receives payment on the first working day of the month. The owner may receive payment late the first month of assisted occupancy due to delayed processing affected by the completion of the inspection and return of leasing and contract documents.