Managing rental property in Minneapolis means operating under three layers of rules at once, and the mistake managers make is running only the state playbook. On top of Minnesota state landlord-tenant law, the City of Minneapolis adds a mandatory rental-licensing system with performance tiers that directly affects your fees and inspection frequency, and a set of tenant-protection ordinances, on screening criteria, security deposits, and pre-eviction notice, that are stricter than the state baseline. A manager who screens applicants the way they would in a non-ordinance city, or who assumes a rental license is a one-time formality, is exposed to administrative fines and stalled lease-ups.

One thing Minneapolis does not currently have, worth stating up front because it is widely misunderstood, is rent stabilization. Minneapolis voters approved a 2021 charter amendment authorizing the City Council to regulate rents, but no rent-stabilization ordinance has been enacted. If the City Council passes a rent-stabilization ordinance, it would still require voter approval. That is a key contrast with neighboring St. Paul, which does have a rent-stabilization ordinance. This guide focuses on what Minneapolis actually requires today: the rental-license tier system, the screening-criteria ordinance, the local security-deposit rules, and the notice and relocation requirements that sit on top of Minnesota state law.

Rental licensing: the tier system that sets your fees and inspections

Every rental dwelling in Minneapolis must be licensed (under Chapter 244 of the City ordinances), and this is not optional or one-time, it is the foundation of operating legally. Renting out a unit without a current license or provisional license is a code violation, and the ordinance carries a real escalation: a second violation for letting a unit be occupied without a license makes the person ineligible to hold a rental license for two years. So an unlicensed rental is not a minor paperwork gap; it is a direct threat to the ability to operate.

What makes Minneapolis distinctive is that it tiers licensed rental properties (Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3) based on the property's maintenance and code-compliance history. The tier is not cosmetic, it drives money and hassle: a better tier means lower license fees and less-frequent routine inspections (Tier 1 properties are inspected far less often than Tier 3), while a worse tier means higher fees and more frequent municipal reinspection. In practice, Tier 1 or Tier 2 standing keeps renewal costs low and minimizes disruptive inspections, while slipping to Tier 3 raises both. For a manager, the operational takeaway is that keeping units in clean code-compliance condition is not just about habitability, it directly lowers your licensing cost and inspection burden by protecting your tier. The City's rental license tiers page explains how a property is placed in each tier.

The screening-criteria ordinance: two paths, and strict limits

This is the Minneapolis rule that most changes how a manager operates day to day, and it is genuinely stricter than most places. Under the City's applicant-screening ordinance, when you screen a prospective tenant you must choose one of two paths, and disclose in writing which you are using before collecting an application fee:

• Path 1: the City's "inclusive screening criteria." These are a ceiling, you may be less strict than them, but not stricter. If you use the inclusive criteria, you generally must accept qualifying applicants within them.

• Path 2: an individualized assessment. If you want to use criteria stricter than the inclusive guidelines, you must instead conduct an individualized assessment and let the applicant submit supplemental evidence for you to consider before you decide.

Within that framework, the ordinance imposes specific limits a manager has to build into their screening:

• No minimum credit score. You may look at a credit report only to assess the applicant's ability to pay rent, you cannot set a minimum credit score as a cutoff.

• Criminal-history lookback limits. You generally cannot consider most criminal history beyond defined lookback periods; only a specific enumerated list of serious felonies may be considered when the sentencing date is within the last ten years.

• Rental- and eviction-history limits. You generally cannot use evictions that were dismissed or decided in the tenant's favor, and there are limits on using insufficient rental history against an applicant.

• The 3× rent income rule. If your criteria require income equal to three times the rent or more, you must allow the applicant to show they have paid rent in the past on a lower income.

The practical consequence is that a Minneapolis manager needs a written, ordinance-compliant screening policy disclosed before any application fee is collected, applied consistently, and documented. The City's renter rights page lays out the screening and deposit rules in detail. Because screening decisions are where fair-housing and ordinance exposure concentrate, a disciplined, well-documented tenant screening process is what keeps those decisions both compliant and defensible.

Security deposits: the Minneapolis installment rule on top of state law

Minnesota state law sets the baseline for security deposits, including the return timeline and interest, and that baseline is covered in RIOO's Minnesota guide (linked below). What a manager needs to know about the Minneapolis local layer is the front-end limit on what you can collect and how:

• The security deposit generally cannot exceed one month's rent.

• If you ask for more than one month's rent up front, the deposit portion cannot exceed 50% of a month's rent, and the tenant must be allowed to pay it over three months.

That installment rule is the distinctive Minneapolis piece, it constrains not just the amount of a deposit but the manner in which a larger up-front payment can be structured. When the tenancy ends, the deposit-return timeline, the interest, and the written-explanation-for-deductions requirements come from Minnesota state law (return within the statutory window, with interest, and a written explanation for any withholding), so a manager should handle the return under the state rules while handling the collection under the Minneapolis limits. RIOO's guide to Minnesota landlord-tenant law covers the state deposit-return and interest rules that apply at move-out.

Notice, eviction, and affordable-housing sale rules: the local overlays

Minneapolis layers additional notice and relocation requirements on top of the state framework, and these are where a cross-city manager gets tripped up.

Pre-eviction notice. Minneapolis is among the Minnesota cities that require a landlord to give a tenant written notice before filing an eviction, on top of the state's own pre-eviction-notice rules. In a nonpayment situation, the notice must state the amount owed and how the tenant can pay it. Because the exact notice period and mechanics interact with recent state law (Minnesota enacted its own statewide pre-eviction-notice requirement in 2023) and can vary by ground, and because there has been 2026 activity around the notice period, a manager should confirm the current Minneapolis and state notice requirements before filing, and never treat the lease alone as the governing document.

Right to counsel. Lower-income renters in Minneapolis have a right to legal representation in eviction cases, which a manager should assume when initiating any eviction.

Affordable-housing sale and relocation rules. Minneapolis has a specific Affordable Housing Building Sale Ordinance that applies when selling a building with affordable rental housing. Under it, the owner must give 60 days' written notice to renters and the City before putting the building up for sale, and the new owner must notify renters and the City within 30 days of taking ownership. Critically for a buyer: an existing affordable-housing renter may be eligible for relocation assistance if, within three months after the transfer of ownership, the new owner terminates or refuses to renew the lease without cause, raises the rent, or rescreens the renter. So for an operator acquiring affordable housing, the three-month post-sale window is a real trap, changing rent, rescreening, or a no-cause non-renewal in that window can trigger relocation liability.

How this compares to St. Paul, and where the state line sits

Because so many operators work both Twin Cities, it helps to see the contrast. St. Paul's headline feature is rent stabilization (a capped annual rent increase), which Minneapolis does not currently have. Minneapolis's headline features are the licensing tier system and the screening/deposit ordinances. Both cities have layered tenant protections (both, for instance, require written pre-eviction notice on top of state law), but the specific rules differ, so a manager cannot carry one city's playbook across the river. RIOO's guide to St. Paul's rent stabilization rules covers the neighboring city's framework.

Underneath both cities sits Minnesota state law, which provides the baseline for deposits (return timeline and interest), the eviction court process, habitability, and the statewide notice rules. The Minneapolis ordinances discussed here are additional to, not instead of, those state rules, which is exactly why a Minneapolis manager needs to run all three layers together.

What a Minneapolis property manager should actually do

Putting it together, the Minneapolis priorities are specific and local:

Keep every rental unit licensed, and treat the license as continuous, not one-time, because operating unlicensed risks a two-year disqualification on a second violation. Protect your license tier by keeping units in clean code-compliance condition, since a better tier directly lowers fees and inspection frequency. Adopt a written, ordinance-compliant screening policy, choose the inclusive criteria or the individualized-assessment path, disclose it in writing before collecting any application fee, and honor the no-minimum-credit-score, criminal- and eviction-history, and 3×-rent-income limits. Collect deposits within the one-month cap and the 50%-over-three-months installment rule, and handle the return under Minnesota state law. Give the required written pre-eviction notice, confirm the current period before filing, and assume lower-income tenants have a right to counsel. And if you acquire a building with affordable housing units, account for the three-month post-sale renter protections before changing rent, rescreening, or declining to renew. Because so much of Minneapolis compliance is documentation-and-deadline driven, license renewals, screening disclosures, deposit handling, and notice timing, running the leases and compliance dates through a disciplined lease management process is what keeps a Minneapolis operation audit-ready.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do I need a rental license in Minneapolis?

Yes. Every rental dwelling in Minneapolis must have a current license or provisional license under Chapter 244; renting without one is a code violation, and a second violation for allowing occupancy without a license makes the person ineligible to hold a rental license for two years. Licensing is continuous, not a one-time step.

2. What are the Minneapolis rental license tiers?

Minneapolis tiers licensed rental properties (Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3) based on their maintenance and code-compliance history. A better tier means lower license fees and less-frequent routine inspections; a worse tier means higher fees and more frequent reinspection. Keeping a property in good code-compliance condition protects its tier and directly lowers licensing cost and inspection burden.

3. What can a Minneapolis landlord consider when screening tenants?

Minneapolis requires you to use either the City's inclusive screening criteria or an individualized assessment, and to disclose in writing which you will use before collecting an application fee. You cannot set a minimum credit score (you may view a credit report only to assess ability to pay rent), you face limits on how far back you can consider criminal and eviction history, and if you require income of three times the rent, you must let applicants show they have paid rent before on a lower income.

4. How much can a Minneapolis landlord charge for a security deposit?

The deposit generally cannot exceed one month's rent. If a landlord asks for more than one month's rent up front, the deposit portion cannot exceed 50% of a month's rent, and the tenant must be allowed to pay it over three months. The deposit-return timeline, interest, and written-explanation requirements are governed by Minnesota state law and apply at move-out.

5. Does Minneapolis have rent control or rent stabilization?

Not currently. Minneapolis voters approved a 2021 charter amendment authorizing the City Council to regulate rents, but no rent-stabilization ordinance has been enacted. If the City Council passes one, it would still require voter approval. This is a key difference from neighboring St. Paul, which does have a rent-stabilization ordinance.

6. Does Minneapolis require notice before an eviction?

Yes. Minneapolis is among the Minnesota cities requiring a landlord to give written pre-eviction notice, on top of the state's own pre-eviction-notice requirement, and in a nonpayment case the notice must state the amount owed and how to pay. Because the exact period and mechanics interact with 2023 state law and there has been 2026 activity around the notice period, confirm the current Minneapolis and state requirements before filing. Lower-income renters also have a right to counsel in eviction cases.

7. What happens if I buy an affordable-housing rental property in Minneapolis?

Minneapolis has an Affordable Housing Building Sale Ordinance. The seller must give 60 days' written notice to renters and the City before listing, and the new owner must notify renters and the City within 30 days of taking ownership. An existing affordable-housing renter may be eligible for relocation assistance if, within three months after the transfer, the new owner terminates or refuses to renew the lease without cause, raises the rent, or rescreens the renter. So account for that three-month window before making changes after acquiring affordable housing.

Note: This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. It reflects the City of Minneapolis rental-licensing (Chapter 244), tenant-screening, security-deposit, notice, and affordable-housing-sale ordinances, and their interaction with Minnesota state landlord-tenant law, as of 2026. Minneapolis does not currently have an enacted rent-stabilization ordinance, and the pre-eviction-notice period has seen 2026 activity. Municipal ordinances and state statutes change; confirm the current requirements with the City of Minneapolis and a qualified Minnesota attorney before screening applicants, handling a deposit, or filing an eviction.