Minnesota Rent Control: Statewide Ban and St. Paul’s 3% Cap

Minnesota rent control is banned at the state level, with one exception: voters in a city can approve rent stabilization at a general election. Under that framework, St. Paul is the only Minnesota city that currently enforces a rent cap, limiting most annual increases to 3%. Minneapolis voters gave their city council authority to pass rent control in 2021, but the council has not enacted an ordinance. So if you rent or own rental property anywhere else in the state, no local rent cap applies to you.

The Statewide Ban and the Voter Exception

Minnesota Statute § 471.9996 prohibits cities, counties, and towns from adopting any law that controls rents on private residential property.¹ A city council cannot pass a rent cap through an ordinary vote, an emergency resolution, or an administrative rule. The only route around the ban is voter approval at a general election.

The statute also carves out activities that don’t count as rent control and therefore don’t require a vote. Local governments can manage properties in which they hold a financial interest through a housing authority, contract with individual property owners, comply with federal or state housing regulations, and mediate landlord-tenant rent disputes.¹

The general-election requirement is why the map looks the way it does. Two cities put the question to voters in November 2021. St. Paul voters approved an actual ordinance with a specific cap. Minneapolis voters approved the council’s authority to write one later. That difference explains everything that follows.

St. Paul’s 3% Rent Cap

On November 2, 2021, St. Paul voters approved a rent stabilization ordinance now codified as Legislative Code Chapter 193A. It limits rent increases on residential rental units to no more than 3% in any 12-month period.² The cap applies regardless of inflation, property taxes, or market conditions.

The ordinance has been amended twice in ways that matter. The 2022 amendments added rules for vacancy increases, new construction, and affordable housing. The 2025 amendments broadened exemptions further. What’s enforced today looks quite different from the original 2021 ballot language.

Which Units Are Exempt

Not every rental in St. Paul is subject to the 3% limit. The 2022 amendments initially gave newly built residential rental properties a 20-year exemption measured from their first certificate of occupancy.³ In 2025, the council went further, permanently exempting new construction and rentals in buildings completed after 2004 from the ordinance entirely. If you rent in a building built after 2004, the 3% cap likely does not apply.

Affordable housing properties whose rents are already regulated through an agreement with a government agency are also exempt. Owners who think they qualify can contact the Department of Safety and Inspections to confirm and receive a written determination.²

Vacancy Increases

The original ordinance kept the 3% cap in place even after a tenant moved out, a feature called vacancy control. The 2022 amendments replaced that with partial vacancy decontrol. When a unit becomes vacant for a qualifying reason, the landlord can raise rent by the Consumer Price Index plus 8%.³ That’s meaningfully higher than the baseline 3%, but usually still below what the same unit would draw on the open market.

The landlord has to show the vacancy qualifies as “just cause.” The ordinance lists seven grounds, including non-payment of rent, repeated late payment, material lease violations, substantial property damage, tenant refusal to renew, owner or family occupancy within 90 days, and demolition or conversion of the building. Each ground carries its own written-notice and documentation requirements, and the landlord bears the burden of proving one applies.² Skip a step and the CPI-plus-8% increase is off the table; the 3% cap carries over to the next tenant.

Asking for a Rent Increase Above 3%

A landlord who is subject to the cap but believes it doesn’t cover costs can apply for an exception under a “reasonable return on investment” standard. This isn’t a rubber stamp. The application requires detailed financial documentation showing a decrease in net operating income, and the city reviews it closely.⁴

Applications go through the Department of Safety and Inspections online or by mail, and a filing fee is due at submission. Once the city accepts a complete application, the landlord must send written notice to all affected tenants about the pending request.² Either side can appeal the city’s determination within 45 days, and the appeal process includes a hearing where both sides can present documents and testimony.³

What Happens if a Landlord Ignores the Cap

St. Paul does not treat rent cap violations as paperwork issues. A landlord who raises rent beyond the allowed amount without an approved exception faces potential criminal prosecution, administrative fines, or both under the city’s general penalty provisions.⁴

Tenants also have a private right of action, so they can sue in court for equitable relief when a landlord doesn’t comply. Any lease clause that tries to waive a tenant’s rights under the ordinance is void. Anti-retaliation protections drawn from state law also apply: a landlord cannot evict a tenant, increase lease obligations, or reduce services as punishment for filing a complaint. If an eviction or service reduction happens within 90 days of a complaint, the landlord has to prove it wasn’t retaliatory.⁴

Minneapolis: Authority Without an Ordinance

Minneapolis voters approved City Charter Amendment Question 3 on November 2, 2021, authorizing the city council to regulate rents on private residential property by ordinance.⁵ The amendment gave the council two options: enact a rent regulation ordinance directly, or refer a proposed ordinance to voters as a separate ballot question.

As of early 2025, the Minneapolis City Council has not enacted a rent stabilization ordinance. No cap is in place, no application process exists, and landlords face no rent-increase restrictions beyond what their lease terms require. The authority exists on paper. Nothing has been built on it yet. That could change, so landlords and tenants in Minneapolis should watch council activity on this topic.

Everywhere else in Minnesota, the statewide ban still controls, and no city outside St. Paul currently has a rent cap in force.

1
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Section 471.9996 – Rent Control Prohibited
2
Saint Paul Minnesota. Rent Stabilization Rules and Processes
3
City of Saint Paul. Amendment to City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance
4
Saint Paul. Saint Paul Legislative Code Chapter 193A – Residential Rent Stabilization
5
Ballotpedia. Minneapolis, Minnesota, Question 3, Allow for Rent Control Amendment (November 2021)