Landlord-Tenant Law

LANDLORD-TENANT LAW
Prepared by:
Ron Elwood, Staff Attorney
Legal Services Advocacy Project
651-222-3749, ext. 109
relwood@mnlsap.org

I. FORECLOSURE-RELATED CHANGES

A. Foreclosure Advice Notice to Tenants
Chapter 130, Section 8 (SF 1302)
Amends Minn. Stat. § 580.042, subd. 1
Effective August 1, 2009 for foreclosures in which the notice of pendency under section 580.032 or the lis pendens for a foreclosure under chapter 581 is recorded on or after that date

Extends to judicial foreclosures the requirement to provide the foreclosure advice notice to tenants with the notice of foreclosure that was previously applicable only to foreclosures by advertisement.

B. Notice that Property is in Foreclosure
Chapter 123, Section 3 (SF 1147)
Amends Minn. Stat. § 504B.151, subd. 1
Effective August 1, 2009 and applies to leases entered into on or after that date

Extends to judicial foreclosures the requirement that landlords provide notice to prospective tenants that the property is in foreclosure that was previously applicable only to foreclosures by advertisement.

C. Notice to Vacate
Chapter 130, Section 1 (SF 1302)
Amends Minn. Stat. § 504B.285, subd. 1
Effective August 1, 2009

Clarifies that tenants who enter into leases prior to the notice of foreclosure are entitled to the two month notice to vacate foreclosing parties are required to send before they can evict. (A statute passed last session intended to expand the right to notice to tenants who entered into a lease after the notice of foreclosure may have inadvertently removed that existing right for tenants leasing prior to the notice. This amendment was intended to remove any possible ambiguity and ensure that all tenants, regardless of when in the foreclosure process they entered into a lease, are entitled to the two months' notice.)

D. Withholding Rent
Chapter 123, Section 4 (SF 1147)
Amends Minn. Stat. § 504B.178, subd. 8
Effective August 1, 2009 and applies to cancellations of contracts for deed in which the notice of cancellation is first served or published on or after August 1, 2009, and mortgage foreclosures under chapter 581 in which the lis pendens is recorded on or after that date

Extends to judicial foreclosures the right of tenants in foreclosed properties and cancelled contract for deed transactions to withhold last month's rent that was previously applicable only to foreclosures by advertisement.


II. NUISANCE LAW
Chapter 123, Sections 15 - 18 (SF 1147)
Amends Minn. Stat. §§ 617.80, subd. 7; and 617.81, subds. 2 and 4
Adds Minn. Stat. § 617.80, subd. 7a
Effective August 1, 2009

A. Definitions

1. "Owner"
Replaces and expands the existing definition of "owner" to mean "a person having legal title to the premises, a mortgagee or vendee in possession, a trustee in bankruptcy, a receiver, or any other person having legal ownership or control of the premises."
Amends Minn. Stat. § 617.80, subd. 7

2. "Occupant"
Adds "occupant," meaning a person who occupies or resides in a building or rental unit with the permission of the owner, tenant or lessee.
Adds Minn. Stat. § 617.80, subd. 7a

B. Acts Constituting Nuisance Expanded
Expands acts constituting a nuisance to include unlawful sales or gifts of alcoholic beverages committed on the premises if a group of persons is illegally drinking when the building is unoccupied.
Amends Minn. Stat. § 617.81, subd. 2

C. Notice of Possible Action
Requires notice to lessees and occupants that: (1) the prosecuting attorney intends to seek abatement of the nuisance; and (2) failure to abate could result in termination of the lease.
Amends Minn. Stat. § 617.81, subd. 4


III. RENTERS' CREDIT

Reduces expenditures for this program, through unallotment, by 27% or almost $51 million for 2010 for rent paid in 2009.