Hear from a Community Member: Why I support the Starter Homes Act
My name is Sam Benson. I have been a volunteer with Neighbors for More Neighbors for about three years and have been involved with our state policy work. I started volunteering because I enjoy living in Minnesota and believe that everyone should be able to afford a safe and stable place to call home in our state.
I submitted this testimony for the hearing on the Starter Homes Act in the Minnesota Housing Finance and Policy Committee Hearing on March 3rd, 2026. I encourage everyone who cares about these issues to get engaged and speak up in support of more affordable and abundant housing.
“Dear Housing Finance and Policy Committee Members,
My name is Sam Benson, and I am writing today in support of the Starter Homes Act. This bill takes important steps to ensure that more housing can be built in our state to meet the large shortage of homes that currently exists. By limiting onerous aesthetic mandates and making it easier to permit and build more housing types in more places, lawmakers can help to address this shortage. These policy changes will make it possible for more people to afford to call our great state home.
One reason I support this bill is that I have seen how similar reforms, at the local level, have benefited renters, such as myself, in my neighborhood. I live in southeast Minneapolis, near the University of Minnesota campus. In recent years, as the city of Minneapolis has relaxed parking minimums and encouraged housing development along the Green Line, numerous multi-family housing developments have gone up. This has enabled many new people and businesses to move into the area and has helped to keep rents manageable, even as the student population has grown. My rent increases for the past two years have been less than the rate of inflation and have been much lower than rent increases in other parts of the state or country.
Not every neighborhood should look like mine, but the policy changes that have benefited my neighborhood can also benefit other neighborhoods, even at a smaller scale. By streamlining regulations and limiting excessive requirements, Minnesota can pave the way for a more affordable future for our state.
I strongly encourage a yes vote on the Starter Homes Act.”