Renters Wareshouse and Brenton Hayden Provide New Landlord

Renters Wareshouse and Brenton Hayden Provide New Landlord And Tenant Law Changes For Occupants

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 lately that have an effect on you as a landlord here in Minnesota. Renters Warehouse wants to be sure your practices are in compliance with the following:

Receipt for Rent
A landlord will be now required to promptly 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 particular form of receipt is required, so you can keep it simple. However many office supplies companies have receipt books which are carbon copy. Thus presenting you and them a receipt. When transacting with cash, effective records is necessary .


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 include 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 will not 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 refund 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. a.


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 pertinent to the resident selection process and the landlord should make clear that several factors informed the overall decision.

5. A potential tenant who furnishes materially false information on the application or omits material information requested is accountable for damages, as well as a civil penalty of up to $500, civil court filing costs, and reasonable attorney fees.


Abandoned Property
In the event 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 speed on the adjustments in legislation is very vital to running a effective 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 primary 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



Brenton Hayden

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