Minnesota is one of the few states where rent control depends on a public vote: a city can't cap rents unless its voters approve it in a general election (Minn. Stat. § 471.9996). Exactly one city has. Everywhere else rents float free, but don't relax yet, because the Legislature spent 2023 and 2024 rewriting nearly every other corner of chapter 504B, and most of it took effect January 1, 2024. If your lease template predates that wave, parts of it are stale. The Minnesota quick-reference page holds the short version of every number below.

Rent rules first: St. Paul is capped, the rest of Minnesota isn't

St. Paul voters passed rent stabilization in November 2021: increases are limited to 3% in any 12-month period. The council has since sanded it down twice, in September 2022 (effective January 1, 2023) and May 2025 (effective June 13, 2025). As it stands, buildings with a first certificate of occupancy after December 31, 2004 are exempt, affordable housing is exempt, and landlords can self-certify increases between 3% and 8% based on documented cost factors or request a full reasonable-return exception from the city. If you own in St. Paul, the city's rent stabilization office publishes the current worksheet; use it before every renewal.

Minneapolis voters authorized the council to write a rent ordinance in 2021, but none was ever enacted, so there is nothing to comply with across the river today.

Statewide, there's no cap and no dedicated rent-increase statute. On a month-to-month tenancy, treat an increase like a termination: written notice at least one full rental period plus a day before it takes effect, mirroring § 504B.135. Two newer statutes do shape pricing, though. Late fees are enforceable only if the lease says so in writing, and they max out at 8% of the overdue payment (Minn. Stat. § 504B.177). And since January 1, 2024, all nonoptional fees must appear on the first page of the lease and in your advertising as a single Total Monthly Payment figure (Minn. Stat. § 504B.120). Quietly adding a mandatory "amenity fee" at signing is now a statutory violation, not a pricing strategy.

One more timing rule that surprises people: on leases of 10 months or longer, you can't require the tenant to commit to a renewal until the final 6 months of the term (Minn. Stat. § 504B.144).

Deposits: no cap, a three-week clock, and 1% interest

Minnesota sets no ceiling on deposit size, which makes it an outlier among its neighbors; market norms, not statute, keep deposits near one month. Compare the Iowa guide, the Kansas guide, and the Missouri guide to see how differently the caps and clocks run one state over.

The back end is where the law bites (Minn. Stat. § 504B.178):

  • Return the deposit within three weeks after the tenancy ends and you receive the forwarding address, or within five days if the building is condemned.
  • Pay simple noncompounded interest at 1% per year on the full deposit.
  • If you keep any of it, send a written statement with the specific reasons. Ordinary wear doesn't qualify.
  • Bad-faith withholding costs you the withheld amount again as a statutory penalty, plus punitive damages up to $500 per deposit, on top of returning what you owed.

Since January 1, 2024, tenants also have inspection rights bookending the tenancy (Minn. Stat. § 504B.182): offer a move-in inspection within 14 days of occupancy and a move-out walkthrough no earlier than 5 days before the end, so deductions trace to documented conditions. Rentari's deposit tracking pairs the three-week clock with those inspection records, which is the cleanest defense when a deduction gets challenged.

The 24-hour entry rule (now with a $500 price tag)

Minnesota codified hard entry mechanics effective January 1, 2024 (Minn. Stat. § 504B.211). Entry requires a reasonable business purpose plus a good-faith effort to give at least 24 hours' notice, and the notice must state a time or an anticipated window. Entries happen between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. unless the tenant agrees otherwise. Emergencies and tenant-requested visits are the exceptions.

Violations are priced into the statute: the court can cut rent, unwind the lease entirely, order deposit amounts returned, and add a civil penalty of up to $500 per violation plus attorney fees. "I was in the neighborhood" is now a $500 sentence.

Evicting in Minnesota: the 14-day letter comes first

Since January 1, 2024, you cannot file a nonpayment eviction until you've delivered a written notice giving the tenant 14 days to pay (Minn. Stat. § 504B.321, subd. 1a). The notice has required contents: the itemized amounts owed, and the statutorily worded pointers to legal aid and financial assistance. If a local ordinance sets a longer pre-filing period, the longer one controls. Get the letter wrong and the case gets dismissed before it starts; the forms library carries the compliant Minnesota version.

The rest of the ladder:

  • Nonpayment, after the letter: file the eviction action; the hearing typically lands within about two weeks of the summons. Tenants keep a right of redemption, paying rent, interest, and costs to stay (Minn. Stat. § 504B.291).
  • Material lease violation: Minnesota statute requires no advance cure notice; the lease's own terms govern whether and how you must warn first. That makes your lease language unusually load-bearing here.
  • Ending a month-to-month: written notice at least as long as the rental interval, capped at three months (Minn. Stat. § 504B.135).

Self-help is off the table: locking out a tenant or cutting services is unlawful ouster with criminal exposure and damages (Minn. Stat. §§ 504B.225, 504B.231); only the sheriff executes a writ. Also plan around expungement: since the 2023 and 2024 reforms, dismissed and settled eviction cases are routinely wiped from the record, so a thin court file can't do your screening for you. On that note, any screening report you order must rest on Minnesota court data pulled within 24 hours of the report (2024 change), and screening fees carry their own refund rules (Minn. Stat. § 504B.173).

Heat at 68, habitability, and the disclosure stack

The habitability covenants in Minn. Stat. § 504B.161 got a concrete number in the 2023 package: where the landlord controls the thermostat, the unit must hold at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit from October 1 through April 30. Beyond that, the covenants require fitness for use, reasonable repair, and code compliance, and tenants can enforce them through a rent escrow action (Minn. Stat. § 504B.385) or an emergency petition when essentials like heat or water fail (§ 504B.381).

Disclosure and lease-content rules worth a checklist:

  • Name and address of the owner or authorized manager (Minn. Stat. § 504B.181).
  • Any outstanding inspection or condemnation orders (Minn. Stat. § 504B.195).
  • A written apportionment plan if tenants pay utilities through a shared meter (Minn. Stat. § 504B.215).
  • The first-page Total Monthly Payment fee disclosure (§ 504B.120).
  • No requiring, or advertising for, declawed or devocalized pets (Minn. Stat. § 504B.114).
  • For pre-1978 buildings, the federal lead-paint disclosure and EPA pamphlet.

The 2023 to 2025 change wave, in order

  • January 1, 2024: 24-hour entry notice with $500 penalties (§ 504B.211); 14-day pre-eviction notice (§ 504B.321); Total Monthly Payment fee disclosure (§ 504B.120); pet declawing/devocalization ban (§ 504B.114); 6-month renewal-timing limit (§ 504B.144); 68-degree heat floor (§ 504B.161); move-in/move-out inspections (§ 504B.182). All from the 2023 session's landlord-tenant package.
  • June 23, 2024: clearer lease-termination mechanics for tenants facing domestic abuse or harassment (2024 Minn. Laws ch. 118).
  • January 1, 2025: tenant associations protected with a $1,000-per-occurrence retaliation penalty, expanded eviction expungement, right to call emergency services without penalty, and the 24-hour court-record freshness rule for screening reports (2024 Minn. Laws ch. 118).
  • June 13, 2025: St. Paul's amended rent stabilization took effect, exempting post-2004 buildings while keeping the 3% cap and the 3% to 8% self-certification lane.

The 2025 and 2026 sessions produced nothing on the scale of that wave for the core numbers above, so 2026 compliance is mostly about actually implementing 2024's rules.

Minnesota landlord FAQ

Is there a limit on security deposits in Minnesota?

No statutory cap. The obligations sit on the return side: three weeks, 1% simple interest, a written itemization for anything withheld, and penalties (withheld amount again plus up to $500 punitive) for bad faith under § 504B.178.

How big a late fee can I charge?

8% of the overdue payment, maximum, and only if a written lease provision authorizes it (§ 504B.177). No writing, no fee, regardless of what the tenant verbally agreed to.

Can I show the unit with a same-day text?

Not unless the tenant agrees or requested the visit. § 504B.211 wants a good-faith 24-hour notice stating a time or window, with entry between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Each violation risks a $500 penalty and worse.

Do I still serve a 14-day notice if my lease has its own default clause?

Yes. The pre-filing notice for nonpayment is statutory and unwaivable; a lease clause can add steps but can't subtract the 14 days or the required resource language (§ 504B.321, subd. 1a).

Does St. Paul's rent cap apply to my newer building?

If the building's first certificate of occupancy came after December 31, 2004, it's exempt under the 2025 amendments. Older St. Paul buildings live with the 3% cap, the self-certification lane to 8%, and the city's exception process. Nowhere else in Minnesota currently has a cap.

This is general legal information for Minnesota landlords, current to research done in mid-2026, not legal advice. Chapter 504B has been a moving target and cities add their own rules, so check the statute text on the Revisor's site or ask a Minnesota attorney before acting on a deadline or notice period.