Committee deadlocks on expanding who can issue eviction guarantee letters

The Housing Finance and Policy Committee split 7–7 on House File 3410, a bill to expand who may provide guarantee letters that allow tenants to redeem tenancies and halt eviction proceedings. The author's A1 amendment narrowed scope to nonprofit organizations and removed the word "government" before "assistance" so nongovernmental guarantees could be accepted; members adopted that amendment before debate.

Supporters — including the Housing Justice Center, Family Housing Fund, ACER and other nonprofit witnesses — said expanding the pool of eligible guarantors would speed help to households at risk of eviction by allowing mutual aid, faith groups and fiscally sponsored community organizations to provide enforceable guarantees while governments distribute formal assistance. Anne Smedick of the Housing Justice Center said the change would let "nongovernmental funds go farther and be used to keep tenants in their home."

Opponents, led by Cecil Smith of the Minnesota Multi Housing Association, warned the change could create uncertainty for landlords and courts because guarantee letters are not cash and the statute would not set clear standards for program reliability or remedies if guarantors fail to pay. Smith said the amendment "creates significant and unbounded scope expansion" and questioned whether letters would be enforceable if funds proved unavailable.

Committee members debated trust in nonprofit guarantors versus the legal and administrative protections landlords need. Supporters highlighted local groups' rapid response and track records; opponents urged clearer enforcement mechanisms and suggested further vetting in a judiciary committee setting. The motion to pass HF3410 as amended and refer it to Judiciary Finance and Civil Law resulted in 7 ayes and 7 nays, so the motion did not prevail.

Because the committee did not advance the measure, HF3410 will not move forward from this hearing. The debate highlighted competing priorities: speed and flexibility to keep tenants housed versus legal certainty and protections for landlords.

Key factual details: the A1 amendment removes the word "government" before "assistance" and allows nonprofit organizations that do not operate government rental assistance programs to provide a certificate of guarantee that enables tenancy redemption under current statutes. Landlord groups asked for statutory standards for guarantor reliability and remedies if payments do not materialize.