| Tenant Protected Actions |
|
| Landlord Retaliatory Actions |
|
| Penalties for Retaliation |
|
When Is It Illegal for Landlords to Retaliate in Minnesota?
It’s illegal for Minnesota landlords to retaliate with increased obligations, reduced services, or eviction against tenants who have made a good-faith complaint about the landlord’s legal responsibilities. The landlord has to prove non-retaliatory intentions if any of these previously mentioned actions take place fewer than 90 days after a complaint.
What Can Tenants Do in Response in Minnesota?
Minnesota tenants can use retaliation as a defense against a landlord in court. If the court agrees the landlord’s intention was retaliatory, or if the landlord can’t prove non-retaliatory intentions for actions within 90 days of a complaint, the court will nullify the action and award damages to the tenant.
Sources
- 1 Minn. Stat. § 504B.441 (2022)
-
“A residential tenant may not be evicted, nor may the residential tenant’s obligations under a lease be increased or the services decreased, if the eviction or increase of obligations or decrease of services is intended as a penalty for the residential tenant’s or housing-related neighborhood organization’s complaint of a violation. The burden of proving otherwise is on the landlord if the eviction or increase of obligations or decrease of services occurs within 90 days after filing the complaint, unless the court finds that the complaint was not made in good faith. After 90 days the burden of proof is on the residential tenant.”
Source Link
