Law Outside the Box

Are you a landlord who handles screening potential tenants?  If so, you should know that as of August 1, 2010, several new laws were enacted in Minnesota which will affect how you screen potential tenants.

#1 – Landlords MUST give potential renters a written set of criteria that the landlord is using to evaluate that potential renter prior to accepting that potential renter’s application fee.

#2 – Landlords MUST cash one application fee at a time.  In other words, landlords are barred from collecting a fees from a bunch of different applicants at once and picking and choosing the applicant they prefer and not refunding the application fees to the other applicants who were turned down.

#3 – Landlords MUST refund a potential renter’s application fee if the landlord declines the application for a reason not stated in the landlord’s application criteria.  It is important for the landlord to follow its own application criteria or risk violating the law.

#4 – Landlords MUST provide any and all reasons for rejecting a potential renter’s application within 14 days after rejection and identify the criteria the potential renter failed to meet.

#5 – Landlords MUST give a potential renter a written receipt for the application fee upon request by the potential renter.

In addition to any other remedies, a landlord who violates any of these laws is liable to the potential renter for the amount of the screening fee plus a civil penalty of up to $100, civil court filing costs, and reasonable attorney fees incurred to  enforce this remedy.

For the potential renter that lies on the application, such potential renter is liable to the landlord for damages, plus a civil penalty of up to $500, civil court filing costs, and reasonable attorney fees.

For more information, refer to the statute or contact my office.