Minneapolis Residential Lease Agreement
Generate a residential lease agreement that complies with Minneapolis's local ordinances — including rent control rules, just-cause eviction requirements, and mandatory disclosures that go beyond Minnesota state law.
Minneapolis Residential Lease Agreement
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Local Ordinances
Minneapolis Lease Requirements
What Minneapolis's local ordinances require that Minnesota state law does not.
Landlords must obtain a Certificate of Rental Dwelling (CRD) from the City of Minneapolis for each rental unit before renting; the CRD must be renewed annually, and operating without a valid CRD is a misdemeanor and may result in the City ordering the unit vacated, per Minneapolis Code of Ordinances (MCO) §244.1900.
Landlords must provide new tenants with a written disclosure of the building's current CRD status, any outstanding code violations, and notice that Minneapolis has a Rent Stabilization Ordinance limiting annual rent increases; this disclosure must be provided before lease execution.
Under the Tenant Remedies Action (TRA) process (MCO §504B.385), tenants may petition Hennepin County District Court to appoint a neutral administrator to manage repairs and collect rents when a landlord persistently fails to maintain habitable conditions; the landlord must be given written notice and an opportunity to cure before a TRA is filed.
All leases for Minneapolis rental units must include a clause notifying tenants of their right to petition the City for a rent increase above the 3% annual cap under the Rent Stabilization Ordinance and informing them of the City's tenant services resources.
Minneapolis landlords must respond to emergency repair requests (no heat, water leak, broken locks) within 24 hours and non-emergency habitability requests within a reasonable time not exceeding 14 days; failure to respond triggers the tenant's right to withhold rent under MCO §244.1980.
Restrictions & Limits
Under the Minneapolis Rent Stabilization Ordinance (voter-approved November 2021, effective May 1, 2022), annual rent increases for most rental units are capped at 3% per year; the 3% cap applies to the unit, not the tenancy, so the cap resets between tenancies only if the vacancy decontrol exemption applies.
New construction units (those that received a certificate of occupancy within the prior 20 years) are exempt from the 3% rent cap; the exemption lasts 20 years from the date of the original certificate of occupancy, after which the unit becomes subject to the ordinance.
Landlords who wish to increase rent above 3% must petition the City of Minneapolis for an exception; allowable grounds include a landlord's right to a fair return on investment, extraordinary increases in operating costs, and capital improvements; the petition must be filed at least 60 days before the proposed increase effective date.
Landlords may not retaliate against tenants who report code violations, contact City inspectors, organize with other tenants, or assert rights under the Rent Stabilization Ordinance; retaliation within 90 days of protected activity creates a rebuttable presumption of retaliatory conduct under MCO §244.2000.
Landlords may not collect a security deposit in excess of the equivalent of one month's rent, per Minnesota Statutes §504B.178; Minneapolis does not exceed this state limit but enforces it strictly, and failure to return the deposit with an itemized statement within 21 days of vacancy entitles the tenant to double the amount wrongfully withheld plus attorney's fees.
Notice Requirements
Minneapolis landlords must provide at least 30 days' written notice before any rent increase takes effect (including increases within the 3% cap), must give the required statutory notice for lease termination (typically 3 days for non-payment and 14 days for lease violations under Minnesota state law), and must notify tenants of their right to petition the City for any increase above 3%.
FAQ
Minneapolis Lease FAQ
Common questions about renting in Minneapolis.
Does the Minneapolis Rent Stabilization Ordinance apply to my unit?
The ordinance applies to most residential rental units in Minneapolis except units that received a certificate of occupancy within the prior 20 years (new construction exemption), units in buildings used exclusively as a principal residence by the owner with two or fewer additional units, and units already regulated by a separate government affordability agreement. The 20-year new construction exemption is calculated from the original CO date, not the date you moved in, so a building that received its CO in 2003 became subject to rent stabilization in 2023. You can contact the City of Minneapolis 311 office to verify your unit's status.
Can my landlord raise my rent more than 3% per year?
Only with City approval. Under the Minneapolis Rent Stabilization Ordinance, landlords must petition the City for an exception and demonstrate one of the approved grounds (fair return, extraordinary cost increases, capital improvements). The petition must be filed at least 60 days before the proposed increase, and tenants receive written notice and an opportunity to respond before the City issues a decision. Until the City approves the exception, the landlord may not collect any increase above 3%; collecting an unauthorized increase exposes the landlord to civil penalties and a tenant's right to recover the overcharge.
What is a Tenant Remedies Action and how can I use it?
A Tenant Remedies Action (TRA) is a court proceeding under MCO §504B.385 and Minnesota Statutes §504B.395 through §504B.471 that allows tenants or a group of tenants to ask Hennepin County District Court to appoint a neutral administrator (receiver) to manage and repair a building when the landlord persistently fails to address habitability conditions. The administrator collects rents, makes repairs, and reports to the court; the landlord receives no rent until the violations are cured. A TRA requires at least 10 days' prior written notice to the landlord before filing.
What happens if my landlord operates without a Certificate of Rental Dwelling?
Under MCO §244.1900, operating a rental unit without a valid Certificate of Rental Dwelling is a misdemeanor offense and grounds for the City to issue a correction order or order the unit vacated. More importantly for tenants, if a landlord cannot demonstrate a valid CRD, a tenant may assert this as a defense in an eviction proceeding and may be entitled to withhold rent until the CRD is obtained. Tenants can verify CRD status by searching the Minneapolis rental property database at www.minneapolismn.gov/residents/property/rental.
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