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Lawsuits reveal failed inspections
City of Minneapolis officials didn’t inspect a single public housing unit for nearly 30 years, despite the city’s own ordinance requiring it to do so. fox 9’s Mike Manzoni explains revelations from a pair of lawsuits from two former tenants.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Minneapolis failed to inspect public housing units for decades, even though City law required it, and only acted after a court decision.
City ‘refused to inspect’ public housing units: Court
What we know:
For nearly 30 years, the City of Minneapolis did not inspect a single public housing unit, despite an ordinance requiring inspections.
This revelation surfaced after two tenants, who said they lived in poor conditions, filed lawsuits.
In 2020, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that the City must inspect public housing units just as it inspects private rental properties.
After that decision, the City began inspecting public housing, but only when tenants called 311 to complain.
The court noted that before then, the City "refused to inspect MPHA [Minneapolis Public Housing Authority] properties and instead directed all complaints to the MPHA." That practice had been in place since 1992, according to court records.
The City argued that it did not have to inspect public housing because the ordinance did not apply to unlicensed rental units. Until recently, the housing authority did not have licenses for its more than 6,000 low-income homes.
The housing authority said it risked losing federal funding if it obtained those licenses.
But the appeals court ruled that both the City and the housing authority were wrong, finding that municipal code requires inspections and the law requires the housing authority to obtain licenses for its rental units.
In 2025, when it ruled on another lawsuit, the same court also pointed out that "beyond inspecting when an MPHA resident requests one, the City has not adjusted its inspection conduct related to MPHA rental dwellings, nor is there evidence that the city sought to amend the code in the five years since we decided...."
The other side:
The housing authority declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation. When asked if it conducts its own inspections, it said staffers are routinely in the homes.
After a change to state law that took effect last year, the City said it started doing routine public housing inspections.
What we don't know:
It is not clear how many public housing units have now been inspected since the state law change.
The housing authority has not commented on the lawsuits or provided details about the frequency or scope of its own inspections.