Our Core Priorities
Increasing Opportunities for Affordable, Resident-Controlled Homeownership
We support public policies that expand access to affordable homeownership options—especially through cooperative housing models. From financing to zoning to home supply, we advocate for reforms that make resident ownership a realistic and sustainable pathway for low- and moderate-income households across Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Expanding Access for Affordable Lending for Cooperatives and Members
Access to capital remains one of the biggest barriers to cooperative development and homeownership. We work with government agencies, CDFIs, and mission-driven lenders to expand loan products that meet the needs of both cooperative entities (commercial lending) and individual cooperative members (consumer lending). Our goal: lending that’s accessible, equitable, and structured for long-term success.
Preserving and Expanding Manufactured and Facility-Build Housing as a Homeownership Solution
Manufactured housing is one of the most affordable and underutilized homeownership strategies in the country. We advocate for stronger preservation tools, public financing, and development incentives that center this housing type—particularly through resident ownership models like ROCs. We ensure manufactured housing is prioritized in state and federal affordable housing agendas.
Details On Our Current Policy and Advocacy Activities
Federal Level
Tax Incentives to Encourage New Resident-owned Communities
Resident-owned communities help keep manufactured-home owners stably and affordably housed by putting them in charge. In New Hampshire, 151 parks have converted to resident ownership, preserving nearly 9,000 affordable homes. Incentives for park owners to sell to their residents help reinforce and expand this successful model.
We support the Manufactured Housing Community Sustainability Act, which would provide park owners an incentive in the form of a tax credit worth 75 percent of the capital gains they receive from the sale of their community if they sell to their residents. This bill would further support long-term housing affordability and stability by requiring that the park remain resident-owned for at least 50 years.
Federal Level
Preserving the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund
Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) are designed to provide lending to enhance communities and to further economic opportunity for all.
The CDFI Fund provides federal funding, which CDFIs then effectively leverage with private capital - to support the work CDFIs do in providing financing where it is needed most.
For every $1 in federal support provided, CDFIs leverage more than $12 in private capital.
We will continue advocacy efforts to preserve the CDFI Fund and continually monitor efforts that may harm its ability to function.
State Level
Protecting and Growing the Manufactured Home Community Redevelopment Program
We advocate for increasing the base appropriation of the Manufactured Home Community Redevelopment (MHCR) Program at Minnesota Housing and preserving its annual Request for Proposals (RFP) cycle.
The MHCR Program, which currently has a modest base appropriation of $1 million, supports critical infrastructure upgrades in manufactured home communities across the state. Since its launch in 2020, the program has been oversubscribed every year, demonstrating strong demand and urgent need. Since its inception, manufactured home communities have requested $84.8M in funding from the program. A total of $43.9M grants have been awarded. In 2024, only 21% of funding requests were awarded (a record low) due to a low grant award pool.
As the state considers moving to every-other-year RFPs, we are urging lawmakers and agency leaders to maintain annual access to this vital funding source—and to grow its base appropriation to meet the real infrastructure needs of these communities.
State Level
Supporting Additional Investment in the Revolving Loan Fund
We support increased state appropriations into the Revolving Loan Fund, a critical tool for helping resident groups purchase their manufactured home communities. Administered by our affiliated loan fund, the Revolving Loan Fund provides subsidized, flexible, and often deferred financing to cooperatives—filling funding gaps and making resident ownership possible when traditional financing falls short.
These public dollars are recycled into future projects, making the fund a cost-effective, high-impact solution for preserving affordable housing and advancing cooperative ownership. With more communities at risk of speculative purchase, additional capital is urgently needed to meet growing demand and ensure resident groups can compete in today’s market.
State Level
Improve the Minnesota Cooperative Housing Act (308C)
We support legislative updates to the Minnesota Cooperative Housing Act (308C) to streamline and strengthen the legal framework for cooperative housing. Current statutes split incorporation and governance provisions across multiple laws, creating confusion, administrative burdens, and barriers to financing for new housing cooperatives.
By consolidating incorporation and governance authority within 308C, we can make cooperative homeownership more accessible, more fundable, and easier to establish—especially for limited-equity models like resident-owned communities. These updates will help Minnesota remain a national leader in cooperative housing innovation and expand access to stable, community-controlled homeownership.