housing
history
Phillips West is home to a mix of historic housing, large housing towers, and small single-family residences - all interspersed with large businesses and institutions. Phillips West is 84% renter, with many of these renters being rent-burdened (meaning that they pay more than 30% of their income towards rent every month).
In the 2021 Phillips West Community Survey, residents identified affordable housing as a priority that PWNO should work on. Many expressed concerns about homelessness while noting how race increases disparities in access to safe, affordable housing. Residents encouraged PWNO to provide residents of Phillips West with resources and information on tenants' rights, including financial resources. They also encouraged PWNO to serve as a bridge between property owners and renters.
Over the summer of 2021, we were lucky to bring on a summer housing intern to start laying the groundwork for how PWNO can address this clear priority. Our intern worked to connect with renters and landlords, and explore how PWNO can better support healthy, stable, accessible housing. By pulling from City of Minneapolis rental data, he was also able to generate a high-level picture of the neighborhood housing landscape:
There are a total of 1449 rental units in Phillips West, located in over 220 buildings. While many of the buildings in Phillips are smaller, with 1-4 rental units, the majority of rental units in Phillips West are owned by a few large
property owners. Just 10 property owners collectively own around 55% of all rental units in Phillips West.
Renters Rights 101
Derechos de Inquilinos
trainings
renter's rights training program
If you are interested in participating in either an upcoming standalone renter's rights 101 training or the Renter's Rights Training Program, please email us at housing@phillipswest.org
In 2023, PWNO joined HOME Line’s AmeriCorps VISTA program and brought an AmeriCorps Tenant Organizer onto our staff to develop our housing program. Since then, PWNO has developed a general renter's rights training and, in 2025, launched our Renter's Rights Training Program.
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PWNO's Renter's Rights Training Program is designed to provide education to community members on their rights as renters and to empower them to enforce those rights safely and legally. The program includes four deep-dive sessions over the course of four weeks covering topics such as the anatomy of a lease, how to address issues in your living space, what resources exist in your area, and ways to connect with your neighbors. Participants are encouraged to bring current or past rental experiences to sessions to work through them and discuss with their fellow participants, facilitators, and housing/legal professionals.
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The PWNO Renters’ Rights Training Program’s goals include:
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Provide up-to-date, accurate information about current laws and regulations affecting renters.
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Build the skills needed to recognize and address issues faced by renters.
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Empower renters to enforce their rights without fear of retaliation.
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Connect renters with resources and legal advocates around the Twin Cities Metro that can provide assistance to renters facing a variety of issues.
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Encourage renters to build networks among their neighbors to collectively assert their rights to their landlords or rental management companies.