Source: http://www.dmshb.com/Articles/Minnesota-Evictions-Plain-and-Simple.shtml
Timestamp: 2017-09-23 09:06:54
Document Index: 171121338

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 504', '§ 504', '§ 504', '§ 504', '§ 504', '§ 504']

Author: Matthew Schaap ( email author) ( download author's v-card) ( PDF of article)
Tenants may be evicted when they breach a lease. However, if the breach constitutes only failure to pay rent, as opposed to some other breach, e.g., illegal activity, then the tenant may "pay and stay" if the term of the tenancy has not expired. Therefore, landlords should always plead all material breaches of the lease, both monetary and non-monetary, to the extent they have occurred.
Tenant Defenses: Rent Deposit Required. If a tenant makes an initial appearance and asserts non-monetary substantive defenses-such as a landlord's failure to repair or other defenses that could be pursued as claims in a rent escrow action-the tenant is generally not entitled to a trial unless the tenant deposits any unpaid rent. Minn. Stat. 504B.385.
Trial. Trials generally occur shortly after (hours or days) the initial "trial" appearance through a statutory continuance. If a jury trial is requested, scheduling takes longer. By statute, continued trials must occur not later than six days after the first appearance unless all parties consent to a longer continuance. Minn. Stat. § 504B.341.
"Pay and Stay." In cases where failure to pay rent is the only allegation by the landlord, even if the landlord prevails at trial and obtains a writ of recovery, the tenant can "pay and stay" if the tenancy has not ended and has not been timely terminated by the landlord. To pay and stay, the tenant must pay the rent that is past due (in arrears), plus interest (if charged), plus a $5 attorney fee if an attorney represented the landlord, and finally, any "costs of the action." Costs of the action include the filing fee (now about $320 - $355) plus the process server fee, plus a witness fees if one was subpoenaed (called) for trial.
Timing. Based on the statutory timing for filing, initial appearances and trials, the longest period of time between filing an Eviction Complaint and holding a trial on the merits should be 20 days at most, but may be as short as seven days from filing to trial. Most evictions do not involve a trial. If the landlord prevails at trial, a tenant may ask that the judge delay issuance of a writ of recovery for a reasonable period, not to exceed seven days. To obtain a stay, the tenant must show that immediate eviction would work a "substantial hardship" upon the tenant or the tenant's family. Minn. Stat. § 504B.345. In general, an eviction from start to finish takes fewer than 30 days in Minnesota, but some cases do take longer.
Tenants do not always clean up after themselves when they leave the property. At times, they will vacate the property and leave behind a significant mess for the landlord to clean up. When this occurs, landlords must be careful to handle this "personal property" in accordance with Minnesota law. While the statutes ultimately govern (and should of course be deferred to instead of this article), a brief summary of the rules is discussed below.
Removal and Storage of Property Upon Eviction - Minn. Stat. § 504B.365.
1. Storage at different location; removal of property; costs. If the tenant's personal property is to be stored in a place other than the premises, the officer shall remove all personal property of the defendant at the expense of the landlord. Minn. Stat. § 504B.271. The tenant must pay these costs immediately. Failure to do so results in a lien on all the personal property for the reasonable costs and expenses incurred in removing, caring for, storing, and transporting it to a suitable storage place. To enforce the lien, a landlord may keep the property until the bill is paid. If no payment is made for 60 days after execution of the writ, then the landlord is entitled to hold a public sale.
2. Storage at same location; removal of property; costs. The plaintiff must prepare an inventory and mail a copy of the inventory to the defendant's last known address or, if the defendant has provided a different address, to the address provided. The inventory must be prepared, signed, and dated in the presence of the officer and must include the following:
The officer must retain a copy of the inventory. The landlord is responsible for the proper removal, storage, and care of the tenant's personal property and is liable for damages for loss of or injury to it caused by the plaintiff's failure to exercise the same care that a reasonably careful person would exercise under similar circumstances.
Removal and Storage of Abandoned Property - Minn. Stat. § 504B.271.
If a tenant abandons the premises, the landlord may take possession of the tenant's personal property at the premises. The landlord is also obligated to store and care for the property. The landlord then has a claim against the tenant for reasonable costs and expenses incurred in removing the tenant's property and for storing and caring for the property.
28 days after the latter of 1) actual notice that the tenant has abandoned or 2) it reasonably appears the tenant has abandoned, the landlord may sell or dispose of the personal property. Proceeds from the sale may be applied to the landlord's removal, care, and storage costs. Any remaining proceeds of any sale shall be paid to the tenant upon written demand.
Before the landlord sells the property, the landlord must make reasonable efforts to notify the tenant of the sale at least 14 days before the sale, by personal service in writing or sending written notification of the sale by first class and certified mail to the tenant's last known address or usual place of abode, if known by the landlord, and by posting notice of the sale in a conspicuous place on the premises at least two weeks prior to the sale. If notification by mail is used, the 14-day period begins on the day the notices are placed in the mail.
Don't Mess with that Security Deposit
Minnesota law protects tenants from the wrongful withholding of their security deposits and imposes financial penalties on landlords who do not follow the law. Specifically, Section 504B.178 of the Minnesota Statutes provides that "within three weeks after termination of the tenancy," a landlord "shall . . . return the deposit to the tenant, with interest . . . or furnish to the tenant a written statement showing the specific reason for the withholding of the deposit or any portion thereof." Minn. Stat. § 504B.178, subd. 3 (2013). Failing to provide notice of why a deposit has been withheld may result in a judgment for the full deposit, plus a penalty equal to the amount of the deposit. In other words, landlords that fail to follow the law can be held liable for twice the amount of the deposit. A penalty of $500.00 is also imposed where any portion of a security deposit is withheld in bad faith. Bad faith is presumed if a landlord fails to return a deposit within two weeks after commencement of an action by the tenant to recover the withheld deposit.
More often than not, landlord-drafted leases contain provisions that allow landlords to collect attorneys' fees if a tenant breaches a lease. These fee clauses are sometimes one-sided, favoring only the landlord. Landlords sometimes develop an artificial sense of insulation from paying a tenant's attorneys' fees because they rely on the contract, without considering recent changes to Minnesota law.