Legal FAQs for Renters in Minnesota

You may be able to break your lease if you can come to an agreement with your landlord.

You can talk to your landlord to see if they will agree to let you leave early. If they agree, be sure to get the agreement in writing.

Also, you can review your lease. It may have a part that lets you end the lease early in times of financial difficulty. If your lease has this kind of part, you might be able to break the lease (in some cases penalty-free). If you are unsafe at home, you can break your lease early. You have to follow some steps to do this. Learn more here.

Find legal help to get advice for your situation.

Tell your landlord in writing about any repairs you need.

Renters always have the right to live in a healthy and safe home.

You should always call your landlord to make the repairs as soon as possible. Always follow up the call with a request in writing by paper, email, or text message.

You can also call the city you live in to report the repair problems.

Repairs could be for problems with things like:

• Running water or hot water

• Heat

• Stove, refrigerator, or oven

• Electricity

• Bathroom use

• Missing doors, locks, or windows

• Pests

You should always send the landlord a request in writing to make any repairs as soon as possible. Keep a copy of this writing for your records.

If your landlord does not make emergency repairs within 24 hours, you can file an emergency repair court case. All Minnesota courts should be hearing emergency repair cases right now. Learn more about emergency repair cases here.

If your landlord does not make normal repairs within 14 days, you can try to file a normal repair court case. Some Minnesota courts might start hearing these cases soon. Learn more about repair cases here.

Reach out for legal help for additional guidance.

Contact a legal help organization to help defend yourself.

It is illegal in Minnesota for your landlord to evict you without first going to court and getting an eviction order. A landlord cannot lock you out, take off the door, turn off utilities, or do something else to make you leave.

To remove you from your home, a landlord must file an eviction court case, win the case, and give the sheriff a paper called the writ of recovery.

Legal aid and other groups might be able to help you with legal advice, writing court papers, or going to court with you. Learn more about illegal lockouts here.

You can also file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office by using this online form.

Find legal help to protect your rights.

A landlord can never discriminate against you because of protected factors.

In Minnesota, these protected factors include your:

• Race

• Family Status (having kids or being pregnant)

• Disability

• Sex

• Public Assistance (like receiving MFIP, GA, SSI, etc.)

• National Origin

• Color

• Sexual Orientation

• Age (St. Paul only)

• Religion

• Gender identity

• Creed (beliefs)

• Marital Status (being single or divorced)

Discrimination can happen during a housing search, while you are a renter, or when a landlord tries to evict you. Learn more here.

If you have a disability, you still have the right to ask the landlord to change their rules, policies, or practices to accommodate your disability. Learn more here.

Go to LawHelpMN to learn more about your rights as a renter in Minnesota.

Many local Rental Assistance programs are open to everyone, regardless of immigration status. Many programs do not even ask about immigration status.

Check with your local Rental Assistance program to make sure about eligibility rules and immigration.

Local governments set the rules about who is eligible for rent relief. Most programs focus on people who have suffered COVID-19 hardships.

You can talk to your local Rental Assistance program to learn their eligibility rules.

You may have to show your household income, or if you are on other benefits programs like SNAP.

You may also have to show that you are at risk of homelessness or eviction if you don't get rental assistance.

Check with your local Rental Assistance program to see if you are eligible.

If you are behind on rent, you can get help from your local Rental Assistance program. This is a government service to help people who owe rent or utility bills.

Especially if you are behind on rent because of COVID-19 hardships, your local Rental Assistance (or Rent Relief) program can help you.

Find your local Rental Assistance program at your Get Help page here.

The Minnesota eviction moratorium has ended, and most emergency protections have ended.

Landlords may now try to sue tenants to evict them. If you are worried about an eviction, reach out as soon as possible to your local legal aid group. The lawyers may be able to help you find protections and services to deal with your eviction.

Earlier Protections

Earlier, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz ordered a suspension of most evictions during the COVID-19 peacetime emergency period. It went into effect on March 24, 2020 and ended in 2021.

Renters who have applied for rent assistance through Rent Help MN are protected until September 13, 2021. Landlords cannot file for eviction against tenants who applied for rental assistance until then.

The national CDC eviction ban expired on August 26, 2021.

Yes, Minnesota renters still need to pay rent during the emergency.

You may have been protected from eviction, but now that those protections are over, you may be sued and you still owe all your rent.

If you cannot pay rent, you should:

• Communicate with your landlord: Send a written letter or email to your landlord as soon as possible. Explain why you cannot pay the rent because of COVID-19 impact. You can also try to negotiate with your landlord to make a payment plan or get a temporary rent reduction.

• Get written records of all communication: Keep copies of any letter or email you send, and any responses from the landlord. Keep receipts for any payments you make. If you make a payment plan or rent agreement, make sure to get it in writing.

• Keep proof of COVID-19's impact on you: Collect documents about your COVID-19-related employment problems, health care issues, or other issues that affect your ability to pay rent. This includes letters from your employer, doctor, insurance provider, child care provider, schools, etc.

• Tell your landlord in writing about any repair problems: Keep a copy of this writing and take pictures or videos of any repair problems. You might be able to argue that you owe less rent because of the repair problems. See below for more information about repairs during the public health emergency.

• Check for help: Contact your Legal Aid office for advice and to see if they can help. If you need financial help for housing costs, you may be able to get help.

Minnesota renters' utilities may be shut off if they don't make timely payments, now that emergency protections have ended.

Some Minnesota utility companies had stopped all shutoffs during the emergency. Some local cities had ordered that no resident's water can be shutoff. Check here for more details.

Landlords are never allowed to shut off a renter's utilities to try to force the renter out. This is illegal. Learn more about illegal utility shutoffs here.

If this happens to you, call the police and reach out to a lawyer for help.

If you do not have local protections, then in Minnesota:

• Your landlord can still give you a notice to quit.

• Your landlord can still file an eviction claim against you. Earlier, if you had applied for Rental Assistance at Rent Help MN, your landlord couldn't file a lawsuit against you until September 13, 2021.

• The court may hear an eviction case against you.

• The court can issue a new order, judgment, or writ of eviction against you.

• Law enforcement can enforce an existing eviction order against you, to remove you from your home.

It depends on the kind of housing or program.

Call Legal Aid if you live in public housing or Section 8 housing and are worried about an eviction.

Eviction hearings in Minnesota courts have resumed. Courts may schedule these cases by phone, in-person, or by video call.

Check with the Minnesota state courts to find more information