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income housing tax credits and other tools to rehab large properties all the time, and it’s time to shift resources to smaller rentals. “We do subsidize businesses. We do facade improvements. We do incentives. We do quite a bit of subsidizing of small and large businesses in the city,” said Brendmoen, whose ward includes areas of the North End and the East Side. “There’s also a restriction on the rent, so we’re also preserving affordable housing. … I don’t think there’s a lot of other cities that do this. We’re kind of learning as we go.” Council member Russ Stark, who was council president when the rental program started, said the basic concept was sound, even if the details needed fine-tuning. “One way or the other, the tenants feel the impact of the lack of maintenance,” Stark said. There are several restrictions to the rental rehab program. The loans are available exclusively to owners of small rental properties — single- family, duplex, triplex, or fourplex buildings — and landlords must agree not to raise rents more than 3 percent per year for the life of the loan. They must also get letters of recommendation from their local district councils. City staff from the Department of Planning and Economic Development said the original intent of the program was to boost the declining housing in areas of racially- concentrated poverty — low-income census tracts where racial minorities make up the majority of residents. In those neighborhoods, however, some owners of “Class A” or “Class B” properties — the highest conditions within the city’s rankings — felt they were being unfairly excluded after spending sizable sums to keep their rentals up to date. Following staff advice, the city council on Wednesday agreed that the rental rehab program will now be available to landlords of Class C and D properties — the poorest conditions within the city’s rankings — anywhere in St. Paul. The requirements will be looser in low-income, high-minority neighborhoods, where loans will be available to owners of A, B, C and D small rental properties alike.