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Minnesota Landlord Tenant Law

504.20

Interest on Security Deposits; Withholding Security Deposits; Damages

1. Any deposit of money, the function of which is to secure the performance of a residential rental agreement or any part of such an agreement, other than a deposit which is exclusively an advance payment of rent, shall be governed by the provisions of this section.

2.Any deposit of money shall not be considered received in a fiduciary capacity within the meaning of section 82.17, subdivision 7, but shall be held by the landlord for the tenant who is party to the agreement and shall bear simple non-compounded interest at the rate of four percent per annum until May 1, 1997, and 5-1/2 percent per annum thereafter, computed from the first day of the next month following the full payment of the deposit to the last day of the month in which the landlord, in good faith, complies with the requirements of subdivision 3 or to the date upon which judgment is entered in any civil action involving the landlord's liability for the deposit, whichever date is earlier. Any interest amount less than $1 shall be excluded from the provisions of this section.

3.(a) Every landlord shall:

1. within three weeks after termination of the tenancy; or

2. within five days of the date when the tenant leaves the building or dwelling due to the legal condemnation of the building or dwelling in which the tenant lives for reasons not due to willful, malicious, or irresponsible conduct of the tenant,

and after the receipt of the tenant's mailing address or deliver instructions, return the deposit to the tenant, with interest thereon as above provided, or furnish to the tenant a written statement showing the specific reason for the withholding of the deposit or any portion thereof.

(b) It shall be sufficient compliance with the time requirement of this subdivision if the deposit or written statement required by this subdivision is placed in the United States mail as first class mail, postage prepaid, in an envelope with a proper return address, correctly addressed according to the mailing address or delivery instructions furnished by the tenant, within the time required by this subdivision. The landlord may withhold from the deposit only amounts reasonable necessary:

1. to remedy tenant defaults in the payment of rent or of other funds due to the landlord pursuant to an agreement; or
2. to restore the premises to their condition at the commencement of the tenancy, ordinary wear and tear excepted.

(c) In any action concerning the deposit, the burden of proving, by a fair preponderance of the evidence, the reason for withholding all or any portion of the deposit shall be on the landlord.

4.Any landlord who fails to:

1. provide a written statement within three weeks of termination of the tenancy;
2. provide a written statement within five days of the date when the tenant leaves the building or dwelling due to the legal condemnation of the building or dwelling in which the tenant lives for reasons not due to willful, malicious, or irresponsible conduct of the tenant; or
3. transfer or return a deposit as required by subdivision 5, after receipt of the tenant's mailing address or deliver instructions, as required in subdivision 3, shall be liable to the tenant for damages in an amount equal to the portion of the deposit withheld by the landlord and interest thereon as provided in subdivision 2, as a penalty, in addition to the portion of the deposit wrongfully withheld by the landlord and interest thereon.

5.Upon termination of the landlord's interest in the premises, whether by sale, assignment, death, appointment of receiver or otherwise, the landlord or the landlord's agent shall, within 60 days of termination of the interest or when the successor in interest is required to return or otherwise account for the deposit to the tenant, whichever occurs first, do one of the following acts, either of which shall relieve the landlord or agent of further liability with respect to such deposit:

(a) transfer such deposit, or any remainder after any lawful deductions made under subdivision 3, with interest as provided in subdivision 2, to the landlord's successor in interest and thereafter notify the tenant of such transfer and of the transferee's name and address; or
(b) return such deposit, or any remainder after any lawful deductions made under subdivision 3, with interest thereon as provided in subdivision 2, to the tenant.

6.Upon termination of the landlord's interest in the premises, whether by sale, assignment, death, appointment or receiver or otherwise, the landlord's successor in interest shall have all of the rights and obligations of the landlord with respect to such deposit, except, that if tenant does not object to the stated amount within 20 days after written notice to tenant of the amount of deposit being transferred or assumed, the obligation of the landlord's successor to return such deposit shall be limited to the amount contained in such notice. Such notice shall contain a stamped envelope addressed to landlord's successor and may be given by mail or by personal service.

7.The bad faith retention by a landlord of a deposit, the interest thereon, or any portion thereof, in violation of this section shall subject the landlord to punitive damages not to exceed $200 for each deposit in addition to the damages provided in subdivision 4. If the landlord has failed to comply with the provision of subdivision 3 or 5, retention of a deposit shall be presumed to be in bad faith unless the landlord returns the deposit within two weeks after the commencement of any action for the recovery of the deposit.

7a.No tenant may withhold payment of all or any portion of rent for the last payment period of a residential rental agreement, except an oral or written month to month residential rental agreement concerning which neither the tenant nor landlord has service a notice to quit, on the grounds that the deposit should service as payment for the rent. Withholding all or any portion of rent for the last payment period of the residential rental agreement creates a rebuttable presumption that the tenant withheld the last payment on the grounds that the deposit should serve as payment for the rent. Any tenant who remains in violation of this subdivision after written demand and notice of this subdivision shall be liable to the landlord for damages in an amount equal to the portion of the deposit which the landlord is entitled to withhold under subdivision 3 other than to remedy the tenant's default in payment of rent, plus interest on the deposit as provided in subdivision 2, as a penalty, in addition to the amount of rent withheld by the tenant in violation of this subdivision.

7b. An action, including an action in conciliation court, for the recovery of a deposit on rental property may be brought in the county where the rental property is located, or at the option of the tenant, in the county of the landlord's residence.

8.Any attempted waiver of this section by a landlord and tenant, by contract or otherwise, shall be void and unenforceable.

9.The provisions of this section shall apply only to tenancies commencing or renewed on or after July 1, 1973. For the purposes of this section, estates at will shall be deemed to be renewed at the commencement of each rental period.

504.02

Cancellation of leases in certain cases; abandonment or surrender of possession

1. Action to recover.
   
   (a) In case of a lease of real property, when the landlord has a subsisting right of reentry for the failure of the tenant to pay rent the landlord may bring an action to recover possession of the property and such action is equivalent to a demand for the rent and a reentry upon the property; but if, at any time before possession has been delivered to the plaintiff on recovery in the action, the lessee or a successor in interest as to the whole or any part of the property pays to the plaintiff or brings into court the amount of the rent then in arrears, with interest and costs of the action, and an attorney fee not exceeding $5, and performs the other covenants on the part of the lessee, the lesee or successor may be restored to the possession and hold the property according to the terms of the original lease unless an action is pending under section 566.03, subdivision 5, for recovery of the property alleging a material violation of the lease.
   (b) If the tenant has paid to the plaintiff or brought into court the amount of rent in arrears but is unable to pay the interest, costs of the action, and attorney fees required by this subdivision, the court may permit the defendant to pay these amounts into court and be restored to possession within the same period of time, if any, which the court stays the issuance of the writ of restitution pursuant to section 566.09.
   (c) Prior to or after commencement of an action to recover possession for nonpayment of rent, the parties may agree only in writing that partial payment of rent in arrears which is accepted by the landlord prior to issuance of the order granting restitution of the premises pursuant to section 566.09 may be applied to the balance due and does not waive the landlord's action to recover possession of the premises for nonpayment of rent.
   (d) Rental payments under this subdivision must first be applied to rent claimed as due in the complaint from prior rental periods before applying any payment toward rent claimed in the complaint for the current rental period, unless the court finds that under the circumstances the claim for rent from prior rental periods has been waived.
   
2. Lease greater than 20 years.
   (a) If the lease under which the right of reentry is claimed is a lease for a term of more than 20 years, reentry cannot be made into the land or such action commenced by the landlord unless, after default, the landlord shall serve upon the tenant, also upon all creditors having alien of record legal or equitable upon the leased premises or any part thereof, a written notice that the lease will be canceled and terminated unless the payment or payments in default shall be made and the covenants in default shall be performed within 30 days after the service of such notice, or within such great period as the lessor shall specify in the notice, and if such default shall not be removed within the period specified within the notice, then the right or reentry shall be complete at the expiration of the period and may be exercised as provided by law. If any such lease shall provide that the landlord, after default, shall give more than 30 days' notice in writing to the tenant of the landlord's intention to terminate the tenancy be reason of default in terms thereof, then the length of the notice to terminate shall be the same as provided for and required by the lease.
   (b) As to such leases for a term of more than 20 years, if at any time before the expiration of six months after possession obtained by the plaintiff by abandonment or the surrender of possession by the tenant or on receivery in the action, the lesee or a successor in interest as to the whole or part of the property, or any creditor having a lien legal or equitable upon the leased premises of any part thereof, pays to the plaintiff, or brings into court, the amount of rent in arrears, with interest and the costs of the action, and performs the other covenants on the part of the lessee, the lessee or successor may be restored to the possession and hold the property according to the terms of the original lease. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any action or proceeding now pending in any of the courts of this state.
3. Judgment to be recorded. Upon recover of possession by the landlord in the action a certified copy of the judgment shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder of the county where the land is situated if unregistered land or in the office of the registrar of titles of such county if registered land and upon recovery of possession by the landlord by abandonment or surrender by the tenant an affidavit by the landlord or the landlord's attorney setting forth such fact shall be recorded in a like manner and such recorded certified copy of such judgment or such recorded affidavit shall be prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein in reference to the recovery of possession by such landlord.

504.06

Estate At Will, How Determined; Notice

Estates at will may be determined by either party by three months' notice in writing for that purpose given to the other party, and, when the rent reserved is payable at periods of less than three months, the time of such notice shall be sufficient if it be equal to the interval between the times of payment; and, in all cases of neglect or refusal to pay the rent due on a lease at will, 14 days' notice in writing to quit, given by the landlord to the tenant, is sufficient to determine the lease.

504.07

Urban Real Estate; Holding Over

When the lessee or tenant of urban real estate, or any interest therein, holds over and retains possession thereof after expiration of the term of the lease without express contract with the owner, no tenancy for any other period than the shortest interval between the times of payment of rent under the terms of the expired lease shall be implied.

504.08

Notice To Be Given of Vacation of Building

Every person who shall, between the 15th day of November and the 15th day of April following, remove from, abandon, or vacate any building, or part thereof, occupied by or in the possession of that person as tenant, except upon the termination of the tenancy, and which contains any plumbing, water steam, or other pipe liable to injury from freezing, without first giving to the landlord, owner, or agent in charge of such building three days' notice of intention so to remove shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

504.181

Covenant of Lessee Not To Allow Drugs

1. Covenant not to sell drugs or allow drug sales. In every lease or license of residential premises, whether in writing or parol, the lessee or licensee covenants that:
   (1) the lessee or licensee will not unlawfully allow controlled substances in those premises; and
   (2) the common area and curtilage will not be used by the lessee or licensee or others acting under the lessee's or licensee's control to manufacture, sell, give away, barter, deliver, exchange, distribute, or possess a controlled substance in violation of any criminal provision of chapter 152.
   The covenant is not violated when a person other than the lessee or licensee possesses or allows controlled substances in the premises, common area, or curtilage, unless the lesee or licensee knew or had reason to know of that activity.
   
2. Breach voids right to possession. A breach of the covenant created by subdivision 1 voids the lessee's or licensee's right to possession of the residential premises. All other provisions of the lease or license, including but not limited to the obligation to pay rent, remain in effect until the lease is terminated by the terms of the lease or operation of law. If the lessor or licensee breaches the covenant created by subdivision 1, the landlord may bring, or assign to the county attorney of the county in which the residential premises are located, the right to bring an unlawful detainer action against the lessee or licensee. The assignment must be in writing on a form provided by the county attorney, and the county attorney may determine whether to accept the assignment. If the county attorney accepts the assignment of the landlord's right to bring an unlawful detainer action:
   1. any court filing fee that would otherwise be required in an unlawful detainer action is waived; and
   2. the landlord retains all the rights and duties, including removal of the lessee's or licensee's personal property, following issuance of the writ of restitution and delivery of the writ to the sheriff for execution.
      
3. Waiver not allowed. The parties to a lease or license of residential premises may not waive or modify the covenant imposed by this section.

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Selected Landlord-Tenant Laws of Minnesota, Section 566
FORCIBLE ENTRY AND UNLAWFUL DETAINER

566.01	Forcible entry and unlawful detainer.
566.02	Unlawful detention of lands or tenements.
566.021	Notice of seizure provision.
566.03	Recovery of possession; defenses.
566.04	Limitation.
566.05	Complaint and summons.
566.051	Expedited proceedings.
566.06	Summons; how served.
566.07	Answer; trial.
566.08	Adjournment; security for rent.
566.09	Judgment; fine; execution.
566.10	Disagreement.
566.11	Writ of restition; effect of appeal.
566.12	Appeal; stay.
566.13	Appeal after issuance of writ; stay.
566.14	Dismissal of appeals; amendments; return.
566.15	Form of verdict.
566.16	Forms of summons and writ.
566.17	Execution of the writ of restitution.

566.01

566.02

566.021

566.03

Recovery of Possession; Defenses

1. The person entitled to the premises may recover possession in the manner provided in this section when:
   1. a)any person holds over lands or tenements after a sale thereof on an execution of judgment, of on foreclosure of a mortgage, and expiration of the time for redemption, or after termination of contract to convey the same, provided that if the person holding such lands or tenements after the expiration of the time for redemption or termination is a tenant, the person has received:
      (i) at least one month's written notice to vacate no sooner than one month after the expiration of the time for redemption or termination, provided that the tenant pays the rent and abides by all terms of the lease; or
      (ii) at least one month's written notice to vacate no later than the date of the expiration of the time for redemption or termination, which notice shall also state that the sender will hold the tenant harmless for breaching the lease by vacating the premises if the mortgage is redeemed or the contract is reinstated;
   2. any person holds over lands or tenements after termination of the time for which they are demised or let to that person or to the persons under whom that person holds possession, or contrary to the conditions or covenants of the lease or agreement under which that person holds, or after any rent becomes due according to the terms of such lease or agreement; or
   3. any tenant at will holds after the determination of the estate by notice to quit.
2. It shall be a defense to an action for recovery of premises following the alleged termination of a tenancy by notice to quit for the defendant to prove by a fair prepoderance of the evidence that:
   
   1. The alleged termination was intended in whole or part as a penalty for the defendant's good faith attempt to secure or enforce rights under a lease or contract, oral or written, or under the laws of the state, any of its governmental subdivisions, or of the United States; or
   2. The alleged termination was intended in whole or part as a penalty for the defendant's good faith report to a governmental authority of the plaintiff's violation of any health, safety, housing or building codes or ordinances.

   If the notice to quit was served within 90 days of the date of any act of the tenant coming within the terms of clause (1) or (2) the burden of proving that the notice to quit was not served in whole or part for a retaliatory purpose shall rest with the plaintiff.

3. In any proceeding for the restitution of premises upon the ground of nonpayment of rent, it shall be a defense thereto if the tenant establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that the plaintiff increased the tenant's rent of decreased the services as a penalty in whole or part for any lawful act of the tenant as described in subdivision 2, providing that the tenant tender to the court or to the plaintiff the amount of rent due and payable under the tenant's original obligation.
4. Nothing contained herein shall limit the right of the lessor pursuant to the provisions of subdivision 1 to terminate a tenancy or a violation by the tenant of a lawful, material provision of a lease or contract, whether written or oral, or to hold the tenant liable for damage to the premises caused by the tenant or a person acting under the tenant's direction or control.
5. (a) An action for recovery of the premises may combine the allegation of nonpayment of rent and the allegation of material violation of the lease, which shall be heard as alternative grounds.
   (b) In cases where rent is outstanding, a tenant is not required to pay into court the amount of rent in arrears, interest, and costs as required under section 504.02 to defend against the allegation by the landlord that the tenant has committed a material violation of the lease.
   (c) If the landlord does not prevail in proving material violation of the lease, and the landlord has also alleged that rent is due, the tenant shall be permitted to present defenses to the court that the rent is not owing. The tenant shall be given up to seven days of additional time to pay any rent determined by the court to be due. The court may order the tenant to pay rent and any costs determined to be due directly to the landlord or to be deposited with the court.

566.04

566.05

566.06

566.07

566.08

566.09

566.10

Disagreement

If the jury cannot agree upon a verdict, the court may discharge them, and issue a venire, returnable forthwith, or at some other time agreed upon by the parties or fixed by the court, for the purpose of impaneling a new jury.

566.11

566.12

Appeal; Stay

A party who feels aggrieved by the judgment may appeal within ten days as in other cases triable before courts except that if the party appealing remains in possession of the premises, bond shall be conditioned to pay all costs of such appeal and abide the order the court may make therein and pay all rents and other damages justly accruing to the party excluded from possession during the pendency of the appeal. Upon the taking of such appeal all further proceedings in the case shall be stayed, except that in an action on a least against a tenant holding over after the expiration of the term thereof or termination thereof by notice to quit, if the plaintiff give bond as provided in section 566.11, a writ of restitution shall issue as if no appeal has been taken and the appellate court shall thereafter issue all needful writs and processes to carry out any judgment which may be rendered in such court.

566.13

566.14

566.15

Form of Verdict

The verdict of the jury of the finding of the court in favor of the plaintiff in an action under this chapter shall be substantially in the following form:
At a court held at ...., on the .... day of ...., 19...., before ...., a judge in and for the county of .... in an action between ...., plaintiff, ...., defendant, the jury (or, if the action be tried without a jury the court) find that the facts alleged in the complaint are true, and the said plaintiff ought to have restitution of the premises therein described without delay.
----------------------------------

566.16

566.17

Execution of the Writ of Restitution

1

1a.

2.

2a

In the second and fourth judicial districts, the housing calendar consolidation project shall retain jurisdiction in matters relating to removal of property under this section. If the plaintiff refuses to return the property after proper demand is made as provided in section 504.24, the court shall enter an order requiring the plaintiff to return the property to the defendant and awarding reasonable expenses including attorney fees to the defendant.

3.

Penalty; waiver prohibited. Unless the premises have been abandoned, a plaintiff, agent, or other person acting under the plaintiff's direction or control who enters the premises and removes the defendant's property in violation of this section is guilty of wrongful ouster under section 504.255 and is subject to penalty under section 504.25. The provisions of this section may not be waived or modified by any oral or written agreement.