Outline of the eviction process in Minnesota

Minnesota residential evictions are “eviction actions” under Minn. Stat. ch. 504B (mainly §§ 504B.281 to 504B.371), filed in the district court of the county where the property sits. Hennepin and Ramsey Counties run dedicated Housing Courts (§ 484.013). The first appearance is 7 to 14 days after the summons issues. Laws passed in 2023 and 2024 added: a mandatory 14-day written notice before any nonpayment filing, new service rules, no paying rent into court as a condition of being heard, a seven-day cap on staying the writ, and eviction files that are nonpublic until judgment and expunged after three years.

Minneapolis and St. Paul require a longer nonpayment notice, and the state statute defers to the longer local period.

1. Grounds

Under § 504B.285, subd. 1, you may recover possession when a tenant holds over after the lease term ends, contrary to the conditions or covenants of the lease, after rent becomes due, or, as a tenant at will, after a notice to quit. Chapter 504B has no general just-cause requirement for private-market tenancies.

• Nonpayment (§ 504B.291). You may sue whether or not the lease has a right of reentry clause.
• Breach of lease. The complaint must identify the clause violated, the conduct, the dates, and the clause that gives you the right to evict for it (§ 504B.321, subd. 3).
• Unlawful activity (§ 504B.171). Every residential lease carries a covenant against allowing illegal controlled substances, prostitution, unlawful firearm use or possession, or stolen property on the premises. A breach voids the tenant’s right to possession.
• Holdover after notice. A tenancy at will (month to month) ends by written notice at least as long as the interval between rent due dates or three months, whichever is less (§ 504B.135).

Limits. You may not file solely because the tenant or an authorized occupant was the victim of an act listed in § 504B.206, subd. 1(a) (§ 504B.285, subd. 1(b)). Retaliation is a defense: if your notice to quit was served within 90 days after the tenant tried in good faith to enforce rights or reported a code violation, you must prove the notice was not retaliatory (subd. 2).

2. Notices

• Nonpayment: 14-day written notice (§ 504B.321, subd. 1a). Before filing for unpaid rent or any other unpaid financial obligation under the lease, give a written notice stating: the total amount due; a specific accounting of how much is unpaid rent, late fees and other charges; the name and address of the person authorized to receive payment; and three statements the statute sets out word for word on free legal help, on financial help, and that the landlord can file if the tenant does not pay the total or move out within 14 days from the date of the notice. Copy the wording exactly. The courts publish a form (HOU121).
• How it is served and counted. You or your agent must deliver it personally or by first class mail to the tenant at the leased premises. The statute does not list posting or email. You may file if the tenant has not paid or vacated within 14 days of the delivery or mailing, or within any longer local period (subd. 1a(c)). Because the required statement counts from “the date of this notice”, date the notice the day you deliver or mail it so the two periods match.
• If you skip it. The notice must be attached to the complaint. Without it the court must dismiss without prejudice and expunge the file (subd. 1(d)).
• Breach of lease. Chapter 504B sets no fixed pre-suit notice period for an ordinary lease violation. Follow your lease’s notice and cure terms and attach any notice to vacate you served.
• Ending a month-to-month tenancy. One full rental period, in writing (§ 504B.135). The Attorney General’s handbook says the notice must be received at least one full rental period before the last day of the tenancy: to end a tenancy on June 30 where rent is due on the first, it must arrive on or before May 31.
• Federally backed or subsidized properties may also be subject to the federal CARES Act 30-day notice; confirm whether it applies to yours.

Local notice periods. The City of Minneapolis states that landlords must notify renters 30 days before starting a nonpayment eviction, by mail or hand delivery. The city council passed measures in 2026 to lengthen it temporarily, first to 60 and then to 45 days. The mayor vetoed them, and the council’s attempt to override the 45-day veto failed 7 to 6 on May 7, 2026 (city file 2026-00352), so the period remains 30 days; confirm the current period with the city before you serve. St. Paul’s Tenant Protections ordinance (Legislative Code ch. 193), passed in May 2025, requires a pre-eviction nonpayment notice; the city temporarily lengthened that notice to 60 days from May 14, 2026 through December 31, 2026, and it returns to 30 days on January 1, 2027.

3. Filing

File an Eviction Action Complaint (form HOU102; instructions HOU101) in district court, at the courthouse or through the eFS system. Under § 504B.321, subd. 3 you must attach the current or most recent written lease and addenda; attach a detailed, itemized accounting if rent is claimed; attach any notice to vacate; and state whether the tenancy is affected by a housing subsidy (Section 8, tax credits or similar) and name the agency. A nonpayment complaint must also attach the 14-day notice. If you fail to comply with § 504B.321 the court must dismiss and expunge the case (subd. 5). Filing fees depend on the county.

Do not name the tenant’s minor children in cases filed on or after August 1, 2026 (2026 Minn. Laws ch. 81, sec. 3, coded in the act as § 504B.2136), unless the minor is the only renter. The tenant recovers actual damages or $300, whichever is greater.

Entity landlords. The Judicial Branch states that businesses are generally required to be represented by an attorney, with exceptions only in the Hennepin and Ramsey Housing Courts, where an agent may appear if a Power of Authority is attached to the complaint at filing (Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 603).

Public housing. In HUD Section 9 public housing, a tenant facing a breach-of-lease eviction who cannot afford a lawyer has a right to appointed counsel, and the complaint must say so on its first page (§ 504B.268).

4. Summons, service and the first appearance

The summons sets an appearance not less than 7 nor more than 14 days after it issues (§ 504B.321, subd. 1(c)). Service is governed by § 504B.332, which replaced the repealed § 504B.331 on January 1, 2025:

• Serve at least seven days before the appearance, in the manner of a district court civil action if the tenant can be found in the county. You cannot serve it yourself.
• Mail and posting is allowed only if personal or substitute service fails. In residential cases that means at least two attempts at personal service on different days, one of them between 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.; mailing to the last known address; and posting on the door of the tenant’s individual unit, all at least seven days before the appearance.
• Electronic heads-up. If you regularly text or email the tenant, you must also make a good-faith attempt, at least seven days before the hearing, to send the date, time and place of the hearing that way, with a time and date stamp.
• File the affidavits of service at least three days before the appearance.

The tenant need not file a written answer beforehand and may answer at the appearance (§ 504B.335). If the tenant does not appear, the trial proceeds. The court may not make the tenant pay rent into court or post security before final disposition, except that if the case may be delayed more than ten days it may order security limited to rent accruing during the case, never back rent (§ 504B.335(e)).

Expedited cases (§ 504B.321, subd. 2). For § 504B.171 violations, behavior that seriously endangers other residents, intentional serious property damage and, for cases filed on or after August 1, 2026, assault on the landlord or the landlord’s employees or contractors, you may file an affidavit of specific facts and ask for an expedited hearing: appearance in 5 to 7 days, summons served within 24 hours of issuance unless the court orders otherwise. Other claims cannot be combined. Misuse carries a civil penalty of up to $750 (previously $500).

5. Judgment, redemption and appeal

If you win, the court enters judgment and issues a writ of recovery of premises and order to vacate. Except in § 504B.171 and serious-endangerment or damage cases, the court must stay the writ for a reasonable period not to exceed seven days; there is no such stay on a default judgment (§ 504B.345). If the tenant wins, the court must expunge the file.

Redemption. In a nonpayment-only case the tenant may, at any time before possession is delivered, redeem by paying the landlord or the court the rent in arrears, interest, costs of the action and an attorney’s fee of not more than $5 (§ 504B.291). A written guarantee from a government agency or qualifying rental assistance nonprofit counts as payment. There is no redemption where you also alleged a material lease violation. A partial payment you accept is preserved as non-waiver only if the parties agreed so in writing.

Appeal. A party has 15 days to appeal (§ 504B.371). A tenant who stays in possession must give a bond covering appeal costs and the regular rent as it accrues; the court may not include back rent, late fees or disputed charges. Once the appeal is taken, further proceedings are generally stayed.

6. The writ, the lockout and tenant property

The writ is executed by the sheriff; the statute also allows a licensed police officer (§ 504B.365). The officer demands that the tenant leave with all personal property within 24 hours. If the tenant does not, the officer removes the occupants and puts you in possession, at your cost. You must mail the tenant first class notice of the scheduled date and approximate time, and make a good-faith effort to telephone.

• Stored off the premises: the officer removes the property at your expense and you have a lien for reasonable removal and storage costs. If unpaid 60 days after execution, you may hold a public sale.
• Stored on the premises: prepare a signed, dated inventory in the officer’s presence, and mail a copy to the tenant. § 504B.271 then applies: you may sell or dispose of the property after 28 days, with reasonable efforts to notify the tenant at least 14 days before a sale.
• If you do not let the tenant retake the property within 24 hours of a written demand (48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays, if stored elsewhere), the tenant recovers actual damages, attorney’s fees and punitive damages of up to twice actual damages or $1,000, whichever is greater (§ 504B.271, subd. 2).

Self-help is a crime and a damages claim. Intentionally ousting a tenant, or cutting electricity, heat, gas or water to force a tenant out, is a misdemeanor (§ 504B.225). A bad-faith lockout costs treble damages or $500, whichever is greater, plus attorney’s fees (§ 504B.231). Removing a tenant’s belongings outside the writ process is an unlawful ouster too (§ 504B.365, subd. 5).

Records. An eviction file is not public until final judgment (§ 504B.321, subd. 6). Under § 484.014 the court must expunge without a motion when the tenant prevails, the complaint is dismissed, the parties agree, or three years have passed since the eviction was ordered.

Recent law changes landlords should know

• 2023 Minn. Laws ch. 52, art. 19 (the 14-day notice has applied since January 1, 2024; all of these are in the current statutes): the 14-day notice, required complaint attachments, no pay-to-defend, the seven-day cap on staying the writ, and expanded expungement.
• 2024 Minn. Laws ch. 118 (generally effective January 1, 2025): new service statute § 504B.332; no stay of the writ on default judgments; no eviction based solely on victim status.
• 2026 Minn. Laws ch. 81 (cases filed on or after August 1, 2026): minors may not be named; assault added to the expedited procedure; $750 penalty.
• 2026 Minn. Laws ch. 88 (signed May 12, 2026): repealed § 504B.345, subdivision 2, which had barred a stay of the writ in nonpayment cases without findings of extraordinary circumstances. Nonpayment cases now follow the general rule in § 504B.345, subdivision 1(d): a stay of up to seven days, not available after a default judgment.

What actually goes wrong

• Filing a nonpayment case without the 14-day notice, or with one missing the statutory statements or the accounting.
• Using the 14-day period in Minneapolis or St. Paul.
• Posting or emailing the pre-suit notice instead of hand delivery or first class mail.
• Mail-and-post service without the two personal attempts, the text or email notice of the hearing, or timely affidavits.
• Taking a partial payment without a written non-waiver agreement.
• An LLC owner appearing through a non-lawyer outside the Hennepin and Ramsey Housing Courts.

When to bring in an attorney

Use counsel when the owner is a business entity, when the property is subsidized or public housing, for breach and expedited cases, and when the tenant has a lawyer or raises retaliation. The Minnesota attorneys listed below represent landlords in eviction actions.

Sources

• Minn. Stat. §§ 504B.135, 504B.171, 504B.225, 504B.231, 504B.268, 504B.271, 504B.285, 504B.291, 504B.321, 504B.332, 504B.335, 504B.345, 504B.365, 504B.371; §§ 484.013 and 484.014 (Office of the Revisor of Statutes).
• 2023 Minn. Laws ch. 52, art. 19; 2024 Minn. Laws ch. 118; 2026 Minn. Laws ch. 81.
• Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 603; Minnesota Judicial Branch landlord FAQ and forms HOU101, HOU102, HOU121.
• Minnesota Attorney General, Landlords and Tenants handbook.
• City of Minneapolis, Pre-Eviction Filing Notice page; City of Saint Paul, Tenant Protections page (Legislative Code ch. 193).

This guide is general information about Minnesota procedure and is not legal advice. Confirm the current text before relying on any deadline.