Minnesota legally requires landlords to meet certain “habitability” requirements for all rental properties. This means that they’re responsible for providing a property that meets specific health and safety standards and for fixing issues that violate them.
Minnesota Implied Warranty of Habitability
In Minnesota, the implied warranty of habitability means that a landlord must provide and maintain a safe and habitable rental property. “Implied” means the requirement applies whether or not the lease agreement specifically says so and even if the lease tries to waive the obligation.
Examples of clear habitability violations include:
- Exposed electrical wiring.
- A pipe leaking human waste.
- A broken front doorknob that won’t lock.
However, the implied warranty of habitability does not guarantee that anything at the property will be pretty, clean, new or issue-free, so it doesn’t cover things like stained carpet or dents in a wall. It only guarantees basic health and safety.
Landlord Responsibilities in Minnesota
Note: Check local city/county laws and ordinances for additional requirements.
| Item | Has To Provide? | Has To Fix / Replace? |
| Air Conditioning / Heating | Only Heating | Only Heating |
| Hot Water | Yes | Yes |
| Kitchen Appliances | No | No |
| Washer & Dryer | No | No |
| Smoke/CO Detectors | Yes | Yes |
| Window Coverings | No | No |
| Light Fixtures | No | No |
| Landscaping | No | No |
| Garbage Removal | No | No |
| Garbage Pickup | Yes | Yes |
| Mold | N/A | Yes |
| Pest Control | No | N/A |
| Pest Infestations | N/A | Yes |
| Water Leaks | N/A | Not Usually |
| Clogs | N/A | Not Usually |
Landlord Responsibilities for Heating & Air Conditioning in Minnesota
Minnesota landlords must provide heating during winter for rental properties. They don’t have to provide air conditioning.
Are Landlords Required to Provide Air Filter Replacements in Minnesota?
Minnesota landlords don’t have to replace things like air filters, unless required heating equipment won’t work otherwise.
Landlord Responsibilities for Plumbing in Minnesota
Minnesota landlords must keep plumbing in reasonable working condition that doesn’t damage the property.
Are Landlords Required To Provide Hot Water in Minnesota?
Minnesota landlords must provide and maintain running heated water for rental properties.
Are Landlords Responsible for Fixing Clogged Drains & Toilets in Minnesota?
Minnesota landlords must fix clogs the renter didn’t cause and which keep the plumbing from supplying necessary functions on the property.
Are Landlords in Minnesota Responsible for Fixing Leaks?
Minnesota must fix leaks that could damage the property, or which keep the plumbing from supplying necessary functions on the property.
Landlord Responsibilities for Kitchen Appliances in Minnesota
Minnesota landlords don’t have to provide or maintain kitchen appliances such as a dishwasher, stove, oven, microwave, or refrigerator.
Landlord Responsibilities for Electrical Issues in Minnesota
Minnesota landlords don’t have responsibilities for electrical issues that apply statewide. Most local jurisdictions in Minnesota have detailed electrical codes, instead.
Are Landlords Responsible for Replacing Light Bulbs in Minnesota?
Minnesota landlords are not responsible for replacing light bulbs or particular light fixtures.
Landlord Responsibilities for Garbage Removal in Minnesota
Minnesota landlords have unclear responsibilities relating to garbage removal. The landlord must maintain common areas, and can’t let garbage pile up, so where the lease doesn’t say otherwise, the tenant should remove and store garbage and the landlord should ensure service is available to remove it.
Landlord Responsibilities for Landscaping in Minnesota
Minnesota landlords don’t have any specific obligation to provide landscaping or maintain it with actions like cutting grass. They only have to deal with issues like fallen trees if they interfere with the upkeep of common areas, violate local codes, or create a hazard to health and safety.
Landlord Responsibilities Regarding Mold in Minnesota
Minnesota landlords are responsible for most mold issues. While there’s no state requirement for testing, landlords must investigate and fix mold problems since they threaten health and safety.
Landlord Responsibilities Regarding Pests in Minnesota
Minnesota landlords are responsible for fixing pest issues the renter didn’t cause, including rats, roaches, mice, bed bugs, and ants.
Landlord Responsibilities for Windows & Window Coverings in Minnesota
Minnesota landlords are responsible for providing well-functioning windows that are properly weatherproofed, including storm windows, caulking, and other similar energy-saving features as appropriate. The landlord has to repair broken windows the tenant didn’t cause, since this is a health and safety issue.
Landlord Responsibilities Regarding Safety Devices in Minnesota
Minnesota landlords are responsible for providing and maintaining smoke alarms, as well as providing carbon monoxide (CO) detection unless certified exempt. However, maintenance of CO detectors is the tenant’s responsibility, even though the landlord has to provide them.
Are Landlords Responsible for Replacing Batteries of Safety Devices in Minnesota?
Responsibilities are divided on this issue. Minnesota landlords are responsible for maintaining smoke alarms, which includes battery replacement. Tenants are responsible for maintaining carbon monoxide (CO) detectors, which includes battery replacement.
Landlord Responsibilities for Washers and Dryers in Minnesota
Minnesota landlords are not required to furnish their rental properties with a working washer and dryer.
Renter’s Rights for Repairs in Minnesota
Renters in Minnesota have the right to repairs for issues that affect health and safety, unless they caused the issue themselves. The renter must usually start by notifying the landlord of the issue in writing, although non-written notice is sometimes acceptable. Landlords usually get 14 days to fix issues.
If the issue isn’t fixed, the renter could get a court order for repairs, get a rent deduction or rent reduction, or (in extreme cases) claim constructive eviction and move out.
Sources
- 1 Minn. Stat. § 504B.161(1)(a)(1) & (1)(a)(2) (2022)
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“In every lease or license of residential premises, the landlord or licensor covenants… that the premises and all common areas are fit for the use intended by the parties… [and] to keep the premises in reasonable repair during the term of the lease or license, except when the disrepair has been caused by the willful, malicious, or irresponsible conduct of the tenant or licensee or a person under the direction or control of the tenant or licensee.”
Source Link - 2 Minn. Stat. § 504B.161(2) (2022)
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“The landlord or licensor may agree with the tenant or licensee that the tenant or licensee is to perform specified repairs or maintenance, but only if the agreement is supported by adequate consideration and set forth in a conspicuous writing. No such agreement, however, may waive the provisions of subdivision 1 [basic statutory habitability and energy efficiency requirements] or relieve the landlord or licensor of the duty to maintain common areas of the premises.”
Source Link - 3 City of St. Paul Dep’t of Safety & Inspec., Residential Heating Directive (May 11, 2015)
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There isn’t a statewide heating code or a statewide standard for habitable plumbing, but local Minnesota jurisdictions do individually set requirements. For example: “The law does not allow tenants to remain in a dwelling that lacks basic services (heat, light, water)… the St. Paul Property Maintenance Code requires the landlord to maintain the heat at 68 degrees at 5 feet above the floor in any part of the apartment.”
Source Link - 4 Ellis v. Doe, 924 N.W.2d 258, 260 (Minn. 2019)
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While the state statute only specifies compliance with local codes, which obviously vary by jurisdiction, the Minnesota Supreme Court has suggested universally relevant habitability factors: “[I]ssues, including damage to the bathroom floor, kitchen cabinets, and bedroom ceiling from a water leak; cracks in the walls; peeling paint; broken window seals; and windows that were painted or glued shut… an animal running through the ceiling and scratching at the walls… front door entrance to the duplex, which did not lock and barely closed… back stairs, which were held together by a cord, and the side rail on the front stairs, which was weakly attached to the stairs.”
Source Link - 5 Minn. R. § 4714.0601 (2020)
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Minnesota requires potable hot and cold water supplied to residential dwellings. See Minn. R. § 4714.0601 (2020)
Source Link - 6 National Electrical Code 2020 of Minnesota (2020)
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See, e.g., the National Electrical Code 2020 of Minnesota (2020), which is incorporated in the regulations of municipalities like Minneapolis.
Source Link - 7 Minn. Stat. § 504B.161(1)(a)(3) & (1)(a)(4) (2022)
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“In every lease or license of residential premises, the landlord or licensor covenants… to make the premises reasonably energy efficient by installing weatherstripping, caulking, storm windows, and storm doors when any such measure will result in energy procurement cost savings, based on current and projected average residential energy costs in Minnesota, that will exceed the cost of implementing that measure, including interest, amortized over the ten-year period following the incurring of the cost; and to maintain the premises in compliance with the applicable health and safety laws of the state, and of the local units of government where the premises are located during the term of the lease or license, except when violation of the health and safety laws has been caused by the willful, malicious, or irresponsible conduct of the tenant or licensee or a person under the direction or control of the tenant or licensee.”
Source Link - 8 Minn. Stat. § 299F.362(3) & (5) (2022)
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“Every dwelling unit within a dwelling must be provided with a smoke detector meeting the requirements of the State Fire Code… For all occupancies covered by this section where the occupant is not the owner of the dwelling unit or the guest room, the owner is responsible for maintenance of the smoke detectors. An owner may file inspection and maintenance reports with the local fire marshal for establishing evidence of inspection and maintenance of smoke detectors.”
Source Link - 9 Minn. Stat. § 299F.51(1), (3), & (5) (2022)
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“[All single-family residences] must have an approved and operational carbon monoxide alarm installed within ten feet of each room lawfully used for sleeping purposes… The occupant of each dwelling unit… must: (1) keep and maintain the device in good repair; and (2) replace any device that is stolen, removed, missing, or rendered inoperable during the occupancy… An owner of a multifamily dwelling that contains minimal or no sources of carbon monoxide may be exempted from the requirements… provided that such owner certifies to the commissioner of public safety that such multifamily dwelling poses no foreseeable carbon monoxide risk to the health and safety of the dwelling units.”
Source Link - 10 Ellis v. Doe, 924 N.W.2d 258, 265 (Minn. 2019)
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Showing that a landlord had actual but non-written notice of an issue is legally permitted when raising habitability issues as a defense to eviction, although non-written notice does not obligate the landlord to do repairs by statute. “[R]equiring written notice before a tenant can raise a common-law habitability defense would frustrate the Legislature’s goals and impose a procedural barrier for tenants defending against improper evictions.”
Source Link - 11 Minn. Stat. § 504B.385(1)(c) (2022)
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“[T]he residential tenant must give written notice to the landlord specifying the violation. The notice must be delivered personally or sent to the person or place where rent is normally paid. If the violation is not corrected within 14 days, the residential tenant may deposit the amount of rent due to the landlord with the court administrator along with an affidavit specifying the violation.”
Source Link - 12 Minn. Stat. § 504B.385(1)(b) (2022)
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Landlords can have less than 14 days to do repairs, for code violations that the tenant alleges must be fixed in a shorter period of time. “For a violation as defined in section 504B.001, subdivision 14, clause (1) [code violations], the residential tenant may deposit with the court administrator the rent due to the landlord along with a copy of the written notice of the code violation as provided in section 504B.185, subdivision 2. The residential tenant may not deposit the rent or file the written notice of the code violation until the time granted to make repairs has expired without satisfactory repairs being made [typically 14 days], unless the residential tenant alleges that the time granted is excessive.”
Source Link - 13 Minn. Stat. § 504B.131 (2022)
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“A tenant or occupant of a building that is destroyed or becomes uninhabitable or unfit for occupancy through no fault or neglect of the tenant or occupant may vacate and surrender such a building. A tenant or occupant may expressly agree otherwise except as prohibited by section 504B.161 [statutory implied warranty of habitability].”
Source Link - 14 Ellis v. Doe, 924 N.W.2d 258, 261-62 (Minn. 2019) (internal citations omitted)
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“Based on the statutory directive to liberally construe the covenants, we concluded that the covenants of habitability and the covenant for payment of rent are mutually dependent rather than independent. Because the two covenants are mutually dependent, the rent, or at least part of it, is not due under the terms of the lease when the landlord has breached the statutory covenants. We noted that three possible alternative remedies are available to enforce the statutory covenants. The first was for the tenant to raise the landlord’s breach as a defense to an eviction action; the second was for the tenant to bring an action against the landlord; and the third was for the tenant to raise the landlord’s breach as a defense after vacating the premises and suspending rent payments.”
Source Link
