The Minnesota landlord and tenant handbook is a free guide published by the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office that explains your rights and responsibilities under Chapter 504B of the Minnesota Statutes. The most recent version was revised in July 2025 and is available as a downloadable PDF at ag.state.mn.us, or as an online chapter-by-chapter version on the AG’s consumer resources page.1Office of the Minnesota Attorney General. Landlords and Tenants: Rights and Responsibilities2Office of Minnesota Attorney General. Landlords and Tenants: Rights and Responsibilities Both formats cost nothing.
One caveat before you rely on it: the handbook is an educational summary, not legal advice, and it cannot be cited as binding authority in court. For a serious dispute, you need the actual statute text, which is published by the Office of the Revisor of Statutes.3Justia. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 504B – Landlord and Tenant For everyday questions, though, it’s the clearest plain-language resource the state offers. What follows is what the handbook covers, grouped around the questions renters and landlords actually ask.
Security Deposits
Security deposits carry some of the most specific rules in Minnesota law. The deposit must earn simple, non-compounded interest at one percent per year, calculated from the first day of the month after the landlord receives the full amount. Interest under one dollar is excluded.4Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 504B.178 – Interest on Security Deposits, Withholding Security Deposits, Damages, Limit on Withholding Last Months Rent
Once the tenancy ends and the tenant has given a forwarding address, the landlord has three weeks to either return the full deposit with interest or send a written statement itemizing the deductions. If the tenant had to leave because the building was legally condemned for reasons the tenant did not cause, that window shrinks to five days.5Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 504B.178 – Interest on Security Deposits, Withholding Security Deposits, Damages, Limit on Withholding Last Months Rent
Miss the deadline or skip the written statement, and the landlord owes a penalty equal to the amount wrongfully withheld, on top of returning what was owed in the first place. That penalty kicks in automatically once the deadline passes, and it makes for a straightforward small-claims case.
What can be deducted is also limited. Only unpaid rent and the cost of restoring the unit to its original condition, minus normal wear and tear. Aging carpet, scuff marks, and small nail holes from hanging pictures count as wear and tear. A broken window or a hole punched through drywall does not.
Repairs, Habitability, and Rent Escrow
Every residential lease in Minnesota includes an implied promise from the landlord to keep the unit and all common areas fit for their intended use, in reasonable repair, and in compliance with health and safety codes. These obligations cannot be waived, even if the lease says otherwise.6Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 504B.161 – Covenants of Landlord or Licensor The duty covers working plumbing and heat, pest control, and anything else needed for habitability, unless the tenant caused the problem through reckless or intentional conduct.
When something breaks, notify your landlord in writing. The written notice creates a dated record that matters later. If the landlord does nothing for 14 days, you can file a rent escrow action in housing court. Instead of paying rent to the landlord, you deposit it with the court administrator, which holds the money until the problem is resolved.7Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 504B.385 – Rent Escrow Action to Remedy Violations
Once the court confirms a violation, it has broad discretion. It can order repairs, reduce rent retroactively, release escrowed funds to pay for repairs directly, or hold future rent until the fix is complete. The mechanism works because the landlord stops receiving rent until the court is satisfied.
Late Fees and Screening Fees
A landlord may charge a late fee only if the tenant agreed to it in writing, and the agreement must specify when the fee applies. Even then, the fee cannot exceed eight percent of the overdue rent payment. A discount for paying early does not count as a “due date,” so a landlord cannot use a missed discount deadline to trigger a late fee.8Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 504B.177 – Late Fees
For tenants with government housing assistance, the eight percent is calculated only on the tenant’s share of rent, not the subsidy. If a federal program’s late-fee rules conflict with the state cap, the federal rules control for that subsidized tenancy.
Screening fees have their own set of conditions. A landlord cannot charge one if no unit is available or expected to become available within a reasonable time. Before collecting the fee, the landlord must disclose in writing the name and contact information for any tenant screening service used and the criteria that will drive the rental decision. The landlord cannot cash or deposit the fee until prior applicants have been screened and either rejected or offered the unit and declined. If an applicant is rejected for reasons outside the pre-disclosed criteria, the fee must be returned. If an application is rejected, the landlord has 14 days to notify the applicant and explain which criteria were not met.9Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 504B.173 – Applicant Screening Fee
Landlord Entry and Tenant Privacy
A landlord may enter your unit only when there is a reasonable business purpose and only after providing reasonable advance notice. Emergencies, like a burst pipe or fire, are the exception to the notice requirement. The statute does not set a specific number of hours, but courts have generally read “reasonable notice” to mean advance communication that gives the tenant a fair opportunity to be present or prepare.
A landlord who enters without a legitimate reason or without notice violates the tenant’s privacy rights, regardless of what the lease says. If entries without notice become a pattern, document each one in writing. That record matters if you need to pursue a remedy.
Discrimination and Retaliation
Federal law bans housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3604 – Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing The Minnesota Human Rights Act adds creed, gender identity, marital status, public assistance status, and sexual orientation.11Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 363A.02 – Definitions A landlord who refuses to rent to you because you receive housing assistance or because of your sexual orientation violates Minnesota law, even where federal law may not reach.
Minnesota also prohibits landlords from penalizing a tenant for exercising a legal right. If you report a code violation, file a rent escrow action, or contact the AG’s office about your landlord, the landlord cannot raise your rent, cut services, or try to evict you in response. When an adverse action follows shortly after a tenant complaint, the timing alone can create a strong inference of retaliation.
Required Disclosures Before You Sign
Before the tenancy begins, every landlord must disclose in writing the name and address of the person authorized to manage the property and the name and address of the landlord or agent authorized to accept legal notices. Without that disclosure, the landlord cannot sue to recover rent or possession until the tenant has had the information for at least 30 days. The disclosure must also be posted in a visible spot on the property.12Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 504B.181 – Landlord or Agent Disclosure
Landlords must also give prospective tenants copies of any outstanding inspection orders citing health or safety violations, and any condemnation orders declaring the premises unfit. This disclosure comes before a new tenant signs a lease or pays rent or a deposit.13Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 504B.195 – Disclosure Required for Outstanding Inspection and Condemnation Orders For buildings constructed before 1978, federal law adds a separate obligation to disclose known lead-based paint hazards.14Environmental Protection Agency. Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule Section 1018 of Title X
Ending a Lease
Month-to-Month and Other Periodic Tenancies
For a month-to-month or other periodic arrangement with no set end date, either party can end it with written notice at least one full rental period in advance. For month-to-month, that means the notice must reach the other party by the day before the next rent payment is due. The maximum required notice is three months, even if rent is paid less often. A lease with its own termination clause and a different notice period controls over the default rule.15Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 504B.135 – Terminating Tenancy at Will
A fixed-term lease ends on its stated expiration date without any notice unless the lease says otherwise. Stay past the end date without a new lease and keep paying rent that the landlord keeps accepting, and most courts will treat the arrangement as month-to-month going forward.
Victims of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking
A tenant who fears imminent violence after experiencing domestic abuse, sexual assault, sexual extortion, or stalking can terminate a lease early without penalty. The tenant provides signed, dated written notice stating that they fear violence if they remain, along with a qualifying document such as a valid order for protection, a police report, or a statement from a qualified professional like a licensed health care provider or domestic abuse advocate.16Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 504B.206 – Early Lease Termination, Victims of Violence
The landlord may ask for the name of the person who committed the violence, but the tenant can refuse to disclose it for safety reasons, and the refusal cannot be used to deny the termination. The tenancy ends on the date specified in the written notice.
Active-Duty Military
The federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act lets active-duty military members end a residential lease early without penalty when they receive deployment orders, a permanent change of station, or other qualifying military orders. Deliver written notice to the landlord with a copy of the orders. For a lease with monthly rent, termination takes effect 30 days after the next rent payment is due following delivery of the notice.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3955 – Termination of Residential or Motor Vehicle Leases
No early-termination penalty applies, and the landlord must return the security deposit (minus legitimate damage deductions) and any prepaid rent covering the post-termination period. These protections override any conflicting lease provision. The landlord’s agreement is not required; written notice and a copy of the orders are.
Eviction
Eviction in Minnesota starts when the landlord files an eviction complaint in district court. The complaint must state the full name and date of birth of the tenant being evicted.18Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 504B.321 – Complaint and Summons A court case is the only legal way to remove a tenant. A landlord who changes the locks, shuts off utilities, or hauls out a tenant’s belongings without a court order commits a misdemeanor and faces a legal presumption that the goal was to illegally force the tenant out.19Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 504B.225 – Unlawful Exclusion or Removal, Penalty
If the court rules for the landlord after a hearing, it issues a writ of recovery directing law enforcement to oversee the physical removal. Only after a sheriff or other officer executes the writ does the landlord regain legal possession.
If the court rules for the tenant, the eviction case must be expunged from the court records.20Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 504B.345 – Judgment, Execution That matters because even a failed eviction filing can show up on tenant screening reports and make future renting harder. The mandatory expungement for cases the tenant wins is a protection many renters do not know they have.