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MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Minneapolis Failed to Inspect Public Housing Units for Nearly 30 Years, Court Records Show
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (August 18, 2026) The City of Minneapolis went nearly three decades without inspecting public housing units despite a municipal ordinance requiring rental inspections, according to court records brought to light through lawsuits filed by former tenants.
The city’s practice reportedly began in 1992. Instead of inspecting properties operated by the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, city employees directed residents’ complaints back to the housing authority.
That approach continued until litigation forced the city and the housing authority to confront whether public housing residents were entitled to the same municipal inspection protections provided to people renting from private landlords.
In a 2020 decision, the Minnesota Court of Appeals determined that Minneapolis was required to inspect public housing units under its rental-housing ordinance. The court also rejected the position that the housing authority’s properties could remain outside the city’s rental-licensing system.
Until recently, more than 6,000 low-income homes operated by the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority did not have city rental licenses.
The city had argued that its inspection ordinance did not apply to unlicensed rental units. The housing authority maintained that obtaining the licenses could jeopardize federal funding.
The court rejected both positions, concluding that Minneapolis municipal code requires inspections and that the housing authority must obtain the necessary rental licenses.
After the 2020 ruling, Minneapolis began conducting inspections when public housing residents called 311 and requested city intervention. Court records indicate, however, that the city did not immediately establish a system of routine inspections comparable to the process used for privately owned rental properties.
In another ruling issued in 2025, the Minnesota Court of Appeals observed that the city still had not substantially changed its inspection practices beyond responding to individual complaints. The court also noted that Minneapolis had not amended its municipal code during the five years following the earlier decision.
The Minneapolis Public Housing Authority declined to comment on the continuing litigation when contacted by FOX 9. The authority said its employees routinely enter public housing units but did not disclose the frequency or scope of formal inspections.
The city said it began routine inspections of public housing properties after a change in Minnesota law took effect in 2025.
It remains unclear how many Minneapolis public housing units have been inspected since that change or whether every property has entered a recurring inspection schedule.
The underlying lawsuits were filed by former tenants who alleged that they lived in unsafe or poorly maintained conditions. The continuing litigation raises broader questions about whether low-income public housing residents received the same municipal protections and code-enforcement services available to people living in privately owned rental housing.
The court findings do not establish that every public housing unit was unsafe. They do establish, however, that Minneapolis did not perform the city inspections required under its own ordinance for nearly 30 years.
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