Education for Justice FACT SHEET H-19 Fall 2008

A TENANT’S RIGHT TO PRIVACY

Minnesota law says that a landlord or caretaker can only enter your apartment for a business reason or an emergency. If it is for a business reason, the landlord has to tell you ahead of time. A landlord cannot make you sign anything giving up your right to know ahead of time if they want to enter your apartment. Some cities have tenant privacy laws in their housing codes. You can find out by calling the housing inspection office or the mayor of your city.

WHAT IS A BUSINESS REASON?

The law lists some examples of business reasons:

To show the apartment
To do maintenance work
To allow inspections
To do pre-arranged housekeeping in senior citizens’ housing
A tenant is causing a disturbance in an apartment
The landlord has reason to think the tenant is violating the lease in the apartment
The landlord has reason to think an illegal occupant is in the apartment
The tenant has abandoned the apartment

WHAT KIND OF NOTICE MUST THE LANDLORD GIVE?

The landlord has to make a “good faith effort” to give you “reasonable notice.” What this means depends on the situation. A 24-hour notice is probably “reasonable” in most situations. The notice does not have to be in writing. If a landlord enters your home without notice while you are out, they have to leave a note in a place where you will see it.

WHAT IS AN EMERGENCY?

In an emergency, your landlord can come in your apartment without telling you first. It is an emergency if:

· There is a maintenance, building security, or crime problem in an apartment that may harm a person or property;

· The landlord is checking on a tenant’s safety.

WHAT IF MY LANDLORD BREAKS THE LAW?

Send a letter asking the landlord to stop. Include a copy of this fact sheet. Date your letter and keep a copy. If it is not an emergency, give your landlord 14 days after your letter to stop the privacy violation. If they do not stop, you can file a Rent Escrow case for a court order telling the landlord to stop and asking for money (damages).

You can ask the court to give your rent money back, plus a $100 penalty for each privacy violation. How much rent you get back depends on how bad the violations were. You can also ask the court to cancel your lease so that you can move out, and get your security deposit back.

A Rent Escrow form is attached. Fill it out and take it to your county courthouse along with your rent money. You do not need to wait until your rent is due to file a rent escrow. But you must pay all the rent into court when it is due. You do not have to pay a filing fee if you have a low income. Wait 14 days after you send the letter to the landlord and then file the case. Bring a copy of the letter to file.

If the problem is an emergency that cannot wait for a 14 day notice you can file an emergency case. You can file an Emergency Tenant Remedy Action (ETRA) after a 24 hour notice to the landlord. For more information on ETRAs see our fact sheet, Emergency Repairs. You do not need a lawyer for an ETRA, but you may want to call one first. If you have a low income, call legal aid.

DOES THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY APPLY TO MOBILE HOME PARKS?

The law does not apply if you own your mobile home and rent a space. It may apply if you rent both the home and the space from your landlord.

Minneapolis Legal Aid – CLE

MN Legal Services Coalition

2324 University Avenue W. – Suite 101B

St. Paul, MN 55114

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See a lawyer for advice.

STATE OF MINNESOTA

DISTRICT COURT

COUNTY OF

RENT ESCROW

Plaintiff (Tenant)

AFFIDAVIT

Minn. Stat. 504B.385

vs.

FILE NO.

Defendant (Landlord)

Plaintiff states under oath:

1. My address is

2. My landlord’s name is

3. My landlord’s address is

4. The monthly rent is $

My landlord has violated my right to privacy under Minn. Stat. 504B.211

a) ¨

S/he entered my home without a reasonable business purpose or emergency

b) ¨

S/he entered my home without making a good faith effort to give me reasonable notice.

c) ¨

S/he entered my home when I was not there without giving prior notice, and did not place a written disclosure of the entry in a conspicuous place.

d) ¨

I sent the landlord a letter stating the privacy violations. A copy is attached.

My landlord has failed to make needed repairs and

a) ¨

I sent the landlord a letter describing the problems. The landlord did not fix them within 14 days. A copy of the letter is attached.

and/or

b) ¨

An inspector ordered the landlord to make repairs. The inspector’s deadline has passed, and the landlord has not made all the repairs. A copy of the inspector’s orders is attached.

7. As of today, the amount of rent I owe is $

I am depositing that amount with the court.

8. My best estimate is that it would cost $

for the landlord to make all the repairs.

9. The landlord has known about these repair problems since on or near the following date or dates:

10. Because of these repair problems, my apartment has not been worth the amount of rent I

pay. It has been worth $

per month.

11. I respectfully ask the court for an order as follows:

a) ¨

Right to Privacy : Money damages

(i) Return to me $

of the rent I have paid.

(ii) Award me $100 for each violation, for a total of $

(iii) Authorize me to collect this money by deducting it from the rent.

b) ¨

Lease Cancellation

Cancel our lease, order the landlord to return my security deposit in full and allow me to move without further notice.

c) ¨

Repairs

(i) Order the landlord to make all of the repairs immediately.

(ii) Reduce my rent to $

per month until after all of the repairs are

done. For any repairs that the landlord does not complete by the court’s

deadline, authorize me to pay for the repairs myself and deduct the cost from future rent.

(iii) For the repair problems in the past months, enter a judgment against the

landlord for $

(iv) If I have used an attorney, enter a judgment for reasonable attorney fees.

(v) Authorize me to collect the judgment by taking it out of future month’s rent.

(vi) Set a follow-up hearing to make sure that the landlord made the repairs and done all the things ordered.

(vii) Other:

I certify that, to the best of my knowledge this case is not being filed for an improper reason, such as harassment or delay, my claims are supported by the law; and there is evidence for my claims.

I know that I may be fined or sanctioned by the court if this certification is false.

Date:

Signature

Daytime phone

Subscribed and sworn to before me

this

day of

Notary Public