Landlord/Tenant New Laws Recap

The Minnesota legislature in 2023 passed the most comprehensive landlord/tenant laws in our state’s history. Most of the new laws are in effect or go into effect this year from the 2023 legislative session. Since the Minnesota legislature is once again in session, most likely, there will be additional new laws that will be passed in 2024 that will impact landlords.

The new laws that went into effect January 1, 2024 include, but are not limited to the following:

• Heat in rental units must be at a minimum of 68 degrees from October 1^st through April 30th. This law only applies if tenants do not control their own heat.
• Landlord no longer can require pets to be declawed or devocalized if the landlord allows tenants to have pets on the premises. Please note that a landlord cannot deny a service animal or an emotional support animal for people with physical and/or mental disabilities to be on the premises, even if the landlord does not allow other pets.
• A landlord cannot deny a person who is 21 years of age or older from transporting, possessing or using marijuana paraphernalia, possess or use up to 2 ounces of marijuana in a public place and up to 2 pounds in a private residence. If the rental building is smoke-free, the landlord can still restrict smoking and vaping.
• Six month notice requirements for renewals are now prohibited as a lease provision if the lease is 10 months or longer.
• For leases signed after January 1, 2024, tenants are allowed to terminate their lease early if it is medically necessary for them to move into a care facility.
• An emergency tenant remedy action was previously allowed for repair and the list of emergencies has been expanded. The expanded list includes appliance and elevators if the appliance or elevator was already being provided when the tenant signed the lease. In addition, the expanded list includes serious infestation.
• All mandatory fees charged by landlord must be included in their advertising and on the front page of the written lease called “Total Monthly Payment.”
• Landlord must give a 24-hour notice stating a specific time or a block of time they will be entering the tenant’s premises between 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The landlord and the tenant may agree mutually to a different time outside of the stated hours and to less than 24-hour notice. A violation of this privacy notice is now $500 (the previous law was $100) unless there was an emergency situation such as a leak, fire or well-check.
• The landlord no longer can require a tenant to do a move-in inspection. There are also additional inspection changes to the law.
• Several changes regarding evictions and eviction expungements.

Spangler and de Stefano, PLLP represents landlords on compliance with Minnesota landlord/tenant laws in their leases.

The material contained herein is for informational purposes only, and is not intended to create or constitute an attorney-client relationship between Spangler and de Stefano, PLLP and the reader. The information contained herein is not offered as legal advice and should not be construed as legal advice.