Income is money that you get regularly, like every week or every month. You can get income from work, from benefits, or from other sources.

When you apply for housing, a property manager or landlord will want to know how much income you get. They will then look at that and compare it with the amount of rent they want to charge. If they think your income isn’t high enough to pay the rent, they will deny your application.

They can deny your application because of your income even if you actually have enough income to pay the rent. That’s because landlords and property managers want your income to be a lot higher than rent because they know you have other things you have to pay for, like food, transportation, and so on.

If you have an application denied because your income is too low, these are a few things that can help you:

• Increase your income by applying for benefits.
• Get paid work or increase your hours.
• If you have a disability, ask for a reasonable accommodation based on getting your income through benefits. You can also explain that benefits like Medical Assistance and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) mean you don’t have to spend on other things.

Tip: Finding somebody to co-sign or guarantee your lease can also help you if your income isn’t high enough for the housing you want. This is discussed on the Credit page of this article.

Make Sure You Get the Benefits You Need

Depending on your situation, you may qualify for many types of benefits that can help you pay for your expenses. These may directly give you money, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI); they may help cover expenses unrelated to housing, like Medical Assistance, Medicare, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); or they might help directly with housing, such as Section 8 and MSA Housing Assistance.

It’s important for you to know what benefits you already get and apply for other benefits you could get:

• To learn what benefits you already get, use the HB101 Vault’s Benefits Lookup activity to ask for information from the state of Minnesota. You can also get a my Social Security account to learn about your Social Security benefits and contact the VA about Veterans’ benefits. Disability Benefits 101 has more information about finding out what benefits you get.
  • Tip: If you need help with the Benefits Lookup, Chat with a Hub expert.
• To learn about housing benefits you could get, see HB101’s Programs section. It introduces many benefits and explains how they work.
• To learn about other disability-based benefits you could get, visit Disability Benefits 101, which can help you see which benefits might help you and also explains how you may be able to get benefits and a paying job at the same time.

By getting benefits, you can increase your income or decrease your expenses. Also, landlords and property managers will know that you have money to pay your rent.

Getting Work

Work is another big way to have more money. If you want to work, Minnesota has the following programs that can help you find a job:

• Minnesota CareerForce is Minnesota’s official program to help people find jobs. Their website also includes various resources for your job search.
• Minnesota Vocational Rehabilitation Services helps people with disabilities prepare for, find, and keep jobs.
• MinnesotaWorks.net is an online resource for connecting with jobs in Minnesota.

For more information about finding work, see Disability Benefits 101’s Work and Benefits section.