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  • Minnesota Housing Finance Agency Prevailing Wage Team, Questions about your grant/loan contact or certified payroll form submission

Prevailing Wage

 

In the 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions, the state prevailing wage statutes (Minnesota Statute 116j.871) were amended to include new reporting requirements and to broaden prevailing wage applicability for multifamily rental housing projects that receive funding from Minnesota Housing. These changes help ensure compliance with state statutes and streamline reporting procedures.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - provides further details on project applicability, timelines, and the electronic submission processes.

Requirements

State prevailing wage requirements apply to the following Multifamily development projects in any of the following situations:

  • New construction developments, including adaptive reuse, are subject to state prevailing wage requirements under Minnesota Statute 116j.871, if financed with any of the following from Minnesota Housing: loans of $500,000 or more; grants of $200,000 or more. The loan threshold applies to all Minnesota Housing Multifamily loans and grants regardless of the source of the funds, including federal appropriations and bond proceeds.
  • Projects selected for an allocations or awards of federal low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) from Minnesota Housing consisting of more than ten units after January 1, 2025.
    • An allocation is any amount of LIHTCs issued to a building which are taken into account in the state’s annual credit ceiling, pursuant to Section 42(h)(1)
    • An award is any amount of LIHTCs issued to a building which are not taken into account in the state’s annual credit ceiling, pursuant to Section 42(h)(4)
  • If a project is publicly owned, state prevailing wage applies to new construction and rehabilitation projects where the estimated cost to complete the project exceeds $25,000 (Minn. Stat. 177.41 – 177.44). See section A, question 3, below, for additional details. 

Changes do not affect projects selected for grants or loans before July 1, 2023, or projects already under construction.

​New Reporting Requirements - In addition to the existing Prevailing Wage Certification Form submitted before closing, Minnesota Housing must now collect.

  • ​Certified Payroll Reports within 14 days after each pay period throughout construction. The Certified Payroll reports must be submitted electronically throughout the construction period.  

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - provides further details on project applicability, timelines, and the electronic submission processes. 

Submitting reporting to Minnesota Housing does not replace your obligation to report to any other entity that may have reporting requirements. Please contact DLI at dli.prevwage@state.mn.us for details.

Policy for Carpenter Wage Rate for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Only Projects

Minnesota Laws 2025, chapter 32, article 4, section 14 authorizes Minnesota housing to adopt a policy that allows qualifying affordable rental housing projects to use the federal Davis Bacon residential carpenter wage rate instead of the state commercial carpenter rate. 

To qualify, the project must meet ALL of the following conditions:

  • The project is funded solely with federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (HTCs) and no other Minnesota Housing funding.
  • The building is six stories or under in height.
  • The building uses wood frame construction for residential use.

Additionally, the policy only applies to projects where the Davis Bacon residential carpenter rate does not differ from the state commercial carpenter rate by more than 25%.

These criteria cannot be waived. Projects that have received or will receive any other type of funding from Minnesota Housing are ineligible.

If the project is receiving HTCs from a suballocator - Minneapolis, St. Paul, Dakota County, or Washington County - contact the suballocator directly to determine eligibility. This policy does not override prevailing wage requirements tied to other funding sources. Those requirements must still be followed. 

In accordance with the legislation, this provision expires on December 31, 2027.

*This list is subject to change based on Davis-Bacon Building Rates and will be updated on a quarterly basis or as needed.

Qualifying Counties
As Of October 2026
AnokaBentonCarver
ChisagoClayDakota
DodgeHennepinHouston
IsantiMcLeodOlmstead
PolkRamseyScott
SherburneSibleyStearns
WabashaWashingtonWright
Support

Minnesota Housing is committed to supporting you through these changes. We are available if answers are not found on our webpage or through our FAQ.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - Applies to Multifamily Division Projects. This FAQ is general guidance and is secondary to guidance provided by the by the Department of Labor and Industry. This is a living document with updates happening as needed. Please check back for new questions and updated guidance.

Depending on the funding sources, a project may be subject to both state prevailing wage and federal prevailing wage, which is commonly known as Davis-Bacon.

We appreciate your cooperation in adhering to these statutory changes.

Submit Prevailing Wage Documents

Prevailing Wage payroll reporting must be sent to mhfa.prevailingwage@state.mn.us through the Secure Upload Tool. Review the Secure Upload Tool Instructions for more information.

Depending on the funding sources, a project may be subject to both state prevailing wage and federal prevailing wage, which is commonly known as Davis-Bacon.

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