PROSPECT PARK RENTERS

Renters constitute the large majority of people in the Prospect Park Neighborhood. Since 2020, a group of renters in Prospect Park organized to work within PPA to help all renters with resources available. These include:

Know Your Renting Rights
Legal Resources for Renters in Minneapolis
Additional Housing Resources
PPA Renter's Curriculum

Know Your Renting Rights

The City of Minneapolis is launching a renting rights campaign in 2024 to inform renters and property owners about renter rights by improving access to information from the City. The campaign aims to raise awareness about renting rights and the City's renter resources with updates to the City website and community engagement with residents throughout Minneapolis. More than half of Minneapolis residents are renters.

Renting Rights
Find out what you need to know about your rights as a renter in Minneapolis. We explain renter rights for the following issues:

Renter screening.
Security deposits.
Evictions.
Relocation.
Repairs and maintenance.
Retaliation.

Help with Renter Issues
Learn how you can get help with urgent situations, rental issues and City notices including:

Property owner harassment or threats.
Heat not working.
Dangerous conditions.
Property owner not responding to repair requests.
Property owner discrimination.

Renter Resources
See what resources are available to help you with rental housing issues in Minneapolis including:

City resources of support from Rental Housing Liaisons.
Legal resources.

Community Events
Minneapolis resources are available to help you with rental housing issues in Minneapolis including:

Community Connections Conference.
Juneteenth.
Open Streets.
Somali Independence Day.

Legal Resources for Renters in Minneapolis

Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid - Free legal support and advice: 612-334-5970.

HOMELine's Legal Hotline - Free legal hotline for renters in need: 612-728-5767.

Student Legal Service - Free legal support for U of M students: 612-624-1001.

Additional Housing Resources

Community Action Partnership of Hennepin County (CAP-HC) - Organization offering resources including emergency rental assistance: 952-930-3541.

HousingLink - Inventory of affordable housing and subsidized housing in Minnesota.

To report problems with your rental residence, call Minneapolis 311 at 612-673-3000.

HOMELine's guide to required repairs in your rental residence is especially helpful (downloadable PDF).

The Minnesota Attorney General's office provides a handbook: landlord and tenant rights and responsibilities

The University of Minnesota Off Campus Housing website - resources on renting near campus, roommate finder, safety, navigating campus, student legal services and more.

PPA Renter's Curriculum

The Prospect Park Association (PPA) Renter's Curriculum covers basic information on:

searching for apartments,
leasing them,
moving out,
legal and supportive resources for renters,
a guide on how to talk with landlords and organize with other tenants,
and a discussion board for renters!

To sign up for Prospect Park Association's Renter's Curriculum, please fill out the form here. You will receive an email confirmation when your "moodle account" is ready. Thank you for using this resource!

The PPA Community Building Committee handles quality-of-life issues for all neighborhood residents including homeowners and renters. Minutes from 2020-2021 Prospect Park renters meetings.

Prospect Park RENTER FACTS 2021

Of the roughly 14,000 Prospect Park residents, over two-thirds rent their home.
There are 367 rental licenses in Prospect Park
Of the licensed rental residences in Prospect Park:
- 52% are single family rentals (193 homes)
- 19% are duplexes (71 buildings, 142 units)
- 7% are fourplexes (24 buildings, 96 units)
- 35 buildings have between 5 and 20 units
- 11 buildings have between 20 and 50 units
- 11 buildings have between 50 and 100 units
- 8 buildings have over 100 units
The largest building in Prospect Park is WaHu at 1016 University Ave SE, which has 313 units. According to the building's rental license, it is owned by Michael Thomas Smith of Wilmington, Delaware.
Of building owners, 178 (49%) listed Minneapolis as their address. Of building owners, 42 provided addresses outside of Minnesota.
Of license applicants, 209 (57%) listed Minneapolis as their address. Of license applicants, only 4 provided addresses outside of Minnesota.
Most property owners and license applicants have only one property. Some have between two and four properties. Two people appear to own 10 or more Prospect Park properties:
- Rick Bergman, who contracts with Parallel Realty (see their facebook reviews), and owns 10 properties
- The Hornig family (Bernadette, Jon, and David), who own 14 properties

Apartment Building on SE Bedford Avenue

Apartment Building on SE Bedford Avenue
- photo by Liza Davitch