Just Deeds

The City of Mendota Heights is proud to partner with The Just Deeds Project, which helps property owners find discriminatory covenants and discharge them from their property titles. Just Deeds is a coalition of organizations - communities, law firms, realtors and title companies - dedicated to acknowledging  and providing services to dismantle the systemic racism in Minnesota housing.

During the forming of the Twin Cities, governments and developers used discriminatory covenants to create segregated communities and disparities in wealth, health and well being. These "white- only" covenants restricted those that were not white from owning or occupying land in certain neighborhoods.

Just Deeds is a program that allows property owners to discharge racially restrictive covenants to create change and promote racial equity here in Minnesota. Providing free legal and title services, along with access to online tools. Below is a video from the City of Golden Valley, in partnership with CCX Media, that provides additional background and information about the Just Deeds program. 

Identify if your property has a racially restrictive covenant:

To see if your property has a racially restrictive covenant, visit the Mapping Prejudice tool on the Just Deeds website. Locate the search location icon (magnifying glass) within the map on the page and type in your full address. Once your property is located, it will indicate if there are covenants and provide some additional information.

Removing covenants:

If you find that your property does have a restrictive covenant and you would like to go through the process of discharging it, go to the Just Deeds website.

Learn more and start ongoing dialogue. Community conversations about restrictive covenants are an important step toward racial equity. Use this neighborhood toolkit to get started.