# Minnesota Housing Finance Agency *State agency of Minnesota; affordable housing finance* The **Minnesota Housing Finance Agency** (MHFA), also called Minnesota Housing, is a Minnesota state agency created by the [[Minnesota Legislature]] to respond to concerns over affordable housing, homelessness and housing security.[^1] Its mission, as the encyclopedic summary gives it, is to provide affordable housing opportunities to Minnesotans with low and moderate incomes, by encouraging new construction and the rehabilitation and upkeep of affordable homes and rental properties.[^1] That account describes the agency by its purpose. The sources assembled for this record contain no primary statute, session law, audit, budget, unit count or dated output for MHFA. The record therefore does not establish what the agency has produced against its stated mission, and no figure is given here.[^1] MHFA is a state agency operating while a federal Title VII suit against the State's agency affirmative-action statute is pending. In that suit, *[[United States v. State of Minnesota (0:26-cv-00273)]]*, the United States describes Minnesota's apparatus as a "regime".[^2][^3] The materials in this record do not establish whether MHFA's own hiring is addressed in that complaint.[^3] ## History According to the encyclopedic summary, MHFA dates from 1971 and was formed because demand for affordable housing in Minnesota was rising.[^1] Its founding aim is given as safe, decent and affordable housing, with particular attention to elderly people, people with disabilities and low-income families.[^1] The same summary says the agency works with local governments, developers and non-profit organizations.[^1] The 1971 enabling act is not in the record. ## Functions and responsibilities The summary groups the agency's work under four headings.[^1] - **Financing.** The agency offers low-interest loans, mortgage assistance and rent subsidies so that more people can buy or rent homes.[^1] - **Grants and tax credits.** The agency passes federal and state housing grants and tax credits to eligible recipients, which gives developers an incentive to build affordable units.[^1] - **Research.** The agency studies housing need across the state to inform policy-makers.[^1] - **Education and counseling.** The agency counsels first-time homebuyers and renters on their rights and responsibilities.[^1] ## Operations The agency is funded by both the federal and state governments. It distributes that money through its programs, working with banks, mortgage lenders and developers.[^1] No appropriation, bond issue or program total appears in the record. ## Impact and accomplishments The summary credits the agency with a role in building and rehabilitating "thousands of housing units" and with financing first-time homeowners.[^1] It gives no count, date or source for either claim. The record does not establish either figure. ## Controversies and criticisms The summary reports concerns about how the agency distributes resources and about whether its work reaches the most vulnerable people effectively.[^1] It names no one who raised these concerns and cites no document recording them. The record does not establish their source. ## Future directions The summary says the agency is adapting its strategies to rising housing insecurity. It also expects technology and policy reform to shape that work.[^1] No dated plan supports this expectation in the record. ## Statewide hiring statute and pending federal action [[Minn. Stat. § 43A.191]] is Minnesota's agency affirmative-action statute.[^5] On January 14, 2026, the [[United States Department of Justice]] filed *United States v. State of Minnesota*, No. 0:26-cv-00273 (D. Minn.), under [[Title VII]] of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]].[^3] The complaint cites § 43A.191 eight times. These citations include subdivision 3(c)'s requirement that an agency explain why it hired a non-affirmative candidate.[^3] The complaint challenges a Minnesota Department of Human Services hiring policy, the [[Pre-Hire Justification policy]], and files the signed policy as Exhibit B.[^5] The suit was brought after Executive Order 11246 was revoked by Executive Order 14173 on January 21, 2025.[^5] The case is before a three-judge district court, and the State's response was due February 27, 2026. As of June 18, 2026, the case was ongoing.[^5] The Department's release No. 26-21 of the same date is titled *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*. The release states that Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^2] The U.S. government also uses "regime" for governments it opposes. For example, the [[Iraq Liberation Act]] of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-338) states a policy of supporting efforts to remove "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein."[^4] The project's catalogue of U.S.-government "regime" usages ([[How Minnesota Got Here]], note 40) finds Minnesota to be the only U.S. state so described. This is the project's own catalogue finding.[^4] Both parties enacted and maintained § 43A.191. It entered law as a 1985 budget rider under Governor Perpich, a Democrat, inside the chapter-43A framework enacted in 1981 under Governor Quie, a Republican.[^5] Its history line records thirteen amendments and no repeal. Republican governors signed seven of the amendments (three under [[Arne Carlson]] and four under Pawlenty), and Democratic governors signed the other six.[^5] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - MHFA is a Minnesota state agency.[^1] - As of the cited encyclopedia revision, its director is Jennifer Ho.[^1] ### What - MHFA's stated mission is affordable housing opportunity for low- and moderate-income Minnesotans.[^1] ### When - MHFA was established in 1971.[^1] ### How - MHFA delivers its programs through local banks, mortgage lenders and housing developers.[^1] ## See also - [[Minnesota]] - [[Affirmative action]] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Minnesota Housing Finance Agency* (revision 1368463998, retrieved Oct. 25, 2026) — the agency's general description, founding year, functions, operations, criticisms and director; secondary, not a primary record. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Housing_Finance_Agency [^2]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*, release No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026) — the release title, and the Attorney General's certification of the case as a matter of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime [^3]: United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, *Complaint, United States v. State of Minnesota*, No. 0:26-cv-00273 (filed Jan. 14, 2026) — the Title VII claims, and the complaint's eight citations of Minn. Stat. § 43A.191, including subd. 3(c). https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^4]: U.S. Congress, *Iraq Liberation Act of 1998*, Pub. L. 105-338 (1998) — the statutory use of "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein"; the project catalogue finding is that of *How Minnesota Got Here*, note 40. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-105publ338/pdf/PLAW-105publ338.pdf [^5]: Project companion, *The Instrument No One Will Name* (densified, June 18, 2026), §3 and note 53 — the enactment and amendment history of § 43A.191 by governor and party, and the case's exhibit, bench and status as of June 18, 2026 (validated passage; primary-confirmed against the federal docket). The complaint (note 3) is the primary source for the docket and statute citations.