A Minnesota residential lease agreement (“rental agreement”) is a legal contract between a landlord overseeing a residential property and a tenant who wishes to rent it. A residential lease may, on or before move-in, additionally require a security deposit from the tenant as assurance against future property damage.
These disclosures are required for some or all residential lease agreements in Minnesota:
| Disclosure | Applicable to |
|---|---|
| Landlord Name and Address | All Units |
| Late Fees | All Leases Charging Late Fees |
| Inspection and Condemnation | Any Units Pending Health/Safety Inspection |
| Financial Distress | Any Units Under Foreclosure |
| Shared Utilities | Any Multiple-Tenant Units with Single Utility Meters |
| Covenant Not To Allow Illegal Activity | All Units |
| Lead Paint | All Units Built Before 1978 |
Applicable to all Minnesota rentals.
Minnesota leases must contain the name and address of the landlord or authorized agent. This enables smooth communication of any important legal notice. This contact information is most often written in the lease agreement, for maximum convenience. The landlord has an obligation to notify the tenant in the event of a change in contact information. [1]
Applicable to any Minnesota rental charging late fees.
Minnesota will only enforce late fees which are disclosed and agreed in the lease, including the amount of the fee and the timeline upon which fees are charged. The state caps late fees at a maximum 8% of the overdue balance. [2]
This is an example of a late fee disclosure:
LATE FEE. If rent is not paid by the due date outlined in this lease, a late fee of 8% will be assessed to the balance due after a 3-day grace period. If payment is received before the grace period expires, there is no late fee owed.
Applicable to any Minnesota property under citation for health and safety inspection.
Minnesota landlords must provide the tenant with a disclosure whenever the rental property has an outstanding health and safety inspection order with a citation issued. This disclosure must occur before the tenant signs the lease or pays a security deposit. Proper disclosure requires attaching the citation to the lease. [3]
For citations which aren’t deemed health and safety risks, the landlord only has to provide notice that there is an existing citation which may be reviewed by the prospective tenant upon request. [4]
Applicable to any Minnesota rental under a notice of pending foreclosure.
Minnesota landlords must disclose any pending foreclosure on rental property. Rental agreements may not extend past two months (for periodic leases) or the date of execution for foreclosure (for fixed-term leases), unless and until the property is no longer under the foreclosure. [5]
This is an example of a financial distress disclosure clause:
FINANCIAL DISTRESS DISCLOSURE. This property has a pending deed cancellation or disclosure, set to execute on __/__/____. Note that until further notice, this lease agreement will terminate on the aforementioned date.
Applicable to Minnesota rentals in single-metered buildings with multiple tenants.
In Minnesota, when multiple rental units share a utility meter for the whole building or property, the landlord may charge tenants separately for utilities. The landlord must disclose how the charges are billed to individual tenants. This ensures tenants receive fair charges and understand what uses contribute to their bill. [6]
The law requires that tenants with shared utilities receive the following information from their landlord: [7]
Applicable to all Minnesota rentals.
Minnesota landlords must provide a clause in all rental agreements outlining legal obligations the landlord and tenant have in common, namely, not to allow unlawful activities on the rental property.
This is the notice required by law:
Landlord and tenant promise that neither will unlawfully allow within the premises, common areas, or curtilage of the premises (property boundaries): controlled substances, prostitution or prostitution-related activity; stolen property or property obtained by robbery; or an act of domestic violence, as defined by MN Statute Section 504B.206 (1)(e), against a tenant, licensee, or any authorized occupant. They further promise that the aforementioned areas will not be used by themselves or anyone acting under their control to manufacture, sell, give away, barter, deliver, exchange, distribute, purchase, or possess a controlled substance in violation of any criminal provision of Chapter 152.
Applicable to any Minnesota rentals built before 1978.
For any property built before 1978, federal law requires that a Minnesota residential lease must contain a lead-based paint disclosure. This requires landlords to do the following:
The following lease agreement disclosures and addenda are not required by Minnesota law in residential lease agreements, but assist with tenant management and help limit landlord liability.
| Optional Disclosure | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Asbestos | Informs tenants about any asbestos hazards related to the property. Tenants can take precautions to reduce asbestos hazards by avoiding any disturbance of asbestos fibers. |
| Bed Bugs | Informs tenants whether the property or an adjacent unit has a history of suspected bed bug infestation, and reminds the tenant of the obligation to report suspected infestation immediately. |
| Medical Marijuana Use | Informs tenants about policy related to medical marijuana use on the rental property. Some state laws allow landlords to restrict marijuana usage to non-smoking methods only, or allow use only in designated smoking areas. |
| Mold Disclosure | Informs tenants about actual or suspected mold contamination on the property, along with any remediation efforts, to help limit landlord liability. |
| Move-In Checklist | Takes inventory existing property damage, when the tenant takes possession of the rental property. This enables accurate deductions from the security deposit upon move-out. |
| Non-Refundable Fees | Charges not agreed by the tenant in the lease may be refundable upon lease termination. For Minnesota landlords to charge a non-refundable fee, it must be disclosed and agreed as such in the lease. |
| Smoking | Informs tenants of designated smoking areas that do not interfere with the quiet enjoyment of other tenants. |
Mandatory disclosures outline important health, safety, and property information for both landlord and tenant safety. A landlord who fails to provide federally or state-mandated disclosures could face legal consequences or monetary penalties, either from a tenant lawsuit or from state officials. Many lease provisions may be unenforceable without legally required disclosures.
Failure to comply with the federal lead-based paint hazard disclosure risks fines of tens of thousands of dollars per violation.
Disclosure to tenant: There shall be disclosed to the residential tenant either in the rental agreement or otherwise in writing prior to commencement of the tenancy the name and address of:
(1) the person authorized to manage the premises; and
(2) the landlord of the premises or an agent authorized by the landlord to accept service of process and receive and give receipt for notices and demands.
(a) A landlord of a residential building may not charge a late fee if the rent is paid after the due date, unless the tenant and landlord have agreed in writing that a late fee may be imposed. The agreement must specify when the late fee will be imposed. In no case may the late fee exceed eight percent of the overdue rent payment. Any late fee charged or collected is not considered to be either interest or liquidated damages. For purposes of this paragraph, the “due date” does not include a date, earlier than the date contained in the written or oral lease by which, if the rent is paid, the tenant earns a discount.
Disclosure to tenant: (a) Except as provided in subdivision 3, a landlord, agent, or person acting under the landlord’s direction or control shall provide a copy of all outstanding inspection orders for which a citation has been issued, pertaining to a rental unit or common area, specifying code violations issued under section 504B.185, that the housing inspector identifies as requiring notice because the violations threaten the health or safety of the tenant, and all outstanding condemnation orders and declarations that the premises are unfit for human habitation to:
…
(2) a person before signing a lease or paying rent or a security deposit to begin a new tenancy; and
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(b) If an inspection order, for which a citation has been issued, does not involve code violations that threaten the health or safety of the tenants, the landlord, agent, or person acting under the landlord’s control shall post a summary of the inspection order in a conspicuous place in each building affected by the inspection order, along with a notice that the inspection order will be made available by the landlord for review, upon a request of a tenant or prospective tenant. The landlord shall provide a copy of the inspection order for review by a tenant or a prospective tenant as required under this subdivision.
(b) Before entering into a lease under this section and accepting any rent or security deposit from a tenant, the landlord must notify the prospective tenant in writing that the landlord has received notice of a contract for deed cancellation or notice of a mortgage foreclosure sale as appropriate, and the date on which the contract cancellation period or the mortgagor’s redemption period ends.
Single-meter utility service payments: Except as provided in subdivision 3, the landlord of a single-metered residential building shall be the bill payer responsible, and shall be the customer of record contracting with the utility for utility services. The landlord must advise the utility provider that the utility services apply to a single-metered residential building. A failure by the landlord to comply with this subdivision is a violation of sections 504B.161, subdivision 1, clause (1), and 504B.221. This subdivision may not be waived by contract or otherwise. This subdivision does not require a landlord to contract and pay for utility service provided to each residential unit through a separate meter which accurately measures that unit’s use only. This subdivision does not prohibit a landlord from apportioning utility service payments among residential units and either including utility costs in a unit’s rent or billing for utility charges separate from rent.
(a) A landlord of a single-metered residential building who bills for utility charges separate from the rent:
(1) must provide prospective tenants notice of the total utility cost for the building for each month of the most recent calendar year;
(2) must predetermine and put in writing for all leases an equitable method of apportionment and the frequency of billing by the landlord;
(3) must include in the lease a provision that, upon a tenant’s request, the landlord must provide a copy of the actual utility bill for the building along with each apportioned utility bill. Upon a tenant’s request, a landlord must also provide past copies of actual utility bills for any period of the tenancy for which the tenant received an apportioned utility bill. Past copies of utility bills must be provided for the preceding two years or from the time the current landlord acquired the building, whichever is most recent; and…
How Long Can a Residential Lease Be in Minnesota? Depending on circumstances, in Minnesota it’s usually possible to have a lease of any length of time, as long as the length of the lease term is specific and agreed in writing by the landlord and tenant. Oral leases must be for a term of less than one year, and the landlord must own fewer than 12 rental units. Otherwise, all leases must be written to be fully valid. Read more » Is a Contract to Lease Binding in Minnesota? Yes, a contract to lease is legally binding in Minnesota. To be valid, a contract to lease may have to be written, especially for a fixed term over one year. Oral leases may be valid in some cases (especially when both parties later behave as though there’s an enforceable oral lease), but often have strict limitations on enforceability for things like length of the lease term. Read more » Do Lease Agreements Need to Be Notarized in Minnesota? No, lease agreements do not need to be notarized in Minnesota. A notary helps establish the identity of the people signing the lease, if there’s a claim of fraud, but a notary isn’t necessary for a lease to be valid. Read more » Can a Lease Automatically Renew in Minnesota? Yes, a lease can automatically renew in Minnesota. Most rental agreements will automatically renew when the initial tenancy period is over. Past this point, the lease typically becomes a month-to-month rental agreement, with the same basic terms and conditions otherwise as the original lease. In some cases, such as if rent is being paid weekly, the lease may become a week-to-week lease. Read more »
