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Renters Warehouse and Brenton Hayden Present Recent Landlord And Tenant Law Changes For Residents In Minnesota .

A handful of law changes have gone into effect just recently that have an effect on you as a landlord here in Minnesota. Renters Warehouse wants to ensure that your practices are in compliance with the following:

Receipt for Rent
A landlord is now required to immediately supply a written receipt for rent or other payments paid in cash if payment is made in person, or within 3 business days if payment is not made in person. No special form of receipt is required, so you can keep it simple. However many office supplies companies have receipt books which are carbon copy. Thus issuing you and them a receipt. When doing business with cash, accurate records is significant .


Consumer Screening Fees
1. A landlord won't obtain or hold an applicant screening fee without furnishing a written receipt for the fee upon request of the applicant. You can integrate the receipt into the application form so you don't have to give anything extra to the applicant who requests a receipt.

2. A landlord won't use, cash, or deposit an applicant screening fee until all prior applicants have either been screened and rejected, or offered the unit and declined to enter into a rental agreement. A landlord must also give back the applicant screening fee if a prior applicant is offered the unit and agrees to enter into a rental agreement.

3. A landlord must divulge in writing, prior to taking the applicant screening fee, the conditions on which the decision to rent will be based. Screening criteria are important to ensure that each applicant is treated the same and that applicants know on what basis their application will be accepted or rejected. This is commonly know as your "Resident Selection Criteria". If you have not yet developed written screening criteria you should devote thoughtful consideration and might consider consulting legal counsel before simply adopting standard screening criteria.

4. A landlord must notify the applicant within 14 days of rejection, identifying the criteria the applicant failed to meet and must return the applicant screening fee if the applicant is rejected for any reason not shown in the required disclosure. Sometimes there is a combination of factors related to the resident selection process and the landlord should make clear that various factors informed the overall decision.

5. A potential tenant who presents materially false information on the application or omits material information required is liable for damages, as well as a civil penalty of up to dollarsignr500, civil court filing costs, and reasonable attorney fees.


Abandoned Property
In case a resident abandons personal property, a landlord must only retain the property for 28 days. A 14 day notice to the resident before discarding of the property is required ONLY if the landlord plans to sell the property. If the landlord decides to dispose of or do anything other than sell the property, no notice becomes necessary by state law.


Late Fees
Late fees for failing to pay rent on time are now limited to 8% of the overdue rent payment. The only exception to this is if a federal statute, regulation, or handbook gives for federally subsidized properties to charge late fees that conflict with the 8% limitation.


Attorney Fees
Residential leases that have a provision providing that management may collect attorney fees from the resident will now be construed to provide residents the right to collect attorney fees if successful in a legal action. Resident collection of attorney fees will be limited to the same type of action, circumstances, and to the same extent that management would be allowed to collect from the resident under the lease.

Staying up to date on the adjustments in legislation is very vital to running a prosperous rental property. Failing to do so can cost you lost of money and generate un-wanted liability for you and your business. This is one chief reason many choose to hire a experienced property management company like Renters Warehouse. It is part of our job to have our ear to the ground and protect the best interests of the landlord and tenant.

Shared and Co-written by Brenton Hayden, Golden Valley- MN, of Renters Warehouse