Breaking a Lease Early in Minnesota: What Are My Options?

If you leave without a legal reason

1. 1

   If you leave early without your landlord's written agreement, you may owe rent for the whole lease. Your landlord must try to rent the home again at a fair price. You owe rent until a new renter is found.

   Source:

   1. Breaking your lease, "Warning" box, LawHelpMN. A nonprofit group.

When you can leave early

2. 2

   You may move out and give up a building that is destroyed or becomes unfit to live in. This must happen through no fault or neglect of yours or anyone else living there. Your lease can say otherwise, except where the law bars that.

   Source:

   1. 504B.131, Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Law.
   Think before you call an inspector.

   You or a neighbor can ask the city to send a code inspector. Be careful: if the home is in very bad shape, the inspector can condemn it (say no one may live there). Then everyone must move out, you too, sometimes on short notice. Think about where you would go before you call.

   From LawHelpMN (Minnesota legal aid).
   Tip.

   Read your lease before you decide. Check whether it lets you end it early and what penalty you must pay.

After you move out

3. 3

   The law gives your landlord 3 weeks after your lease ends to return your deposit, with interest. Or your landlord must send you a written statement of the specific reason for keeping any part. The 3 weeks start after your landlord has your mailing address or delivery instructions. Your landlord can keep only what is needed for unpaid rent or repairs beyond normal wear and tear (normal use over time).

   Source:

   1. 504B.178, subd. 3(a), Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Law.
   Tip.

   Before you leave, clean the home and take photos of how you left it.

4. 4

   If your landlord says you owe more, a debt collector may call or write to you. The collector must tell you how much, who it is for and how to say it is wrong. You have 30 days after you get that notice to write back. Then the collector must stop trying to get that money until it answers you.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. What information does a debt collector have to give me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
   3. What should I do when a debt collector contacts me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
5. 5

   Your landlord can take money from your pay or benefits only after winning in court. The court must issue a judgment (the court's final decision) that you owe the debt. If you are sued, do not ignore it. You can lose the case if you do not go to court.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. Can a debt collector take or garnish my wages, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
   Tip.

   If you get court papers, do not ignore them. Go to court, or you can lose the case.

   From Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Special protections

6. 6

   You can end your lease without penalty or liability (owing money) if you fear violence is about to happen. This is true after domestic abuse (abuse in a home) or criminal sexual conduct (sexual assault). It is also true after sexual extortion (threats to get sex or images) or harassment (unwanted, mean acts). The same is true if another authorized occupant (someone allowed to live there) fears it.

   Source:

   1. 504B.206, subd. 1(a), Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Law.
7. 7

   To end your lease out of fear of violence, send signed and dated advance written notice. It must say you fear violence is about to happen, give the date the lease ends, and give written instructions for belongings left behind. Send it before the lease ends, by mail, in person, or the way you usually write to your landlord. Include proof that you are a victim. Moving out before that date does not end it.

   Source:

   1. 504B.206, subd. 1(b), Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Law.
   Tip.

   Write down each problem, every time you contacted your landlord, and the day you moved out.

   Tip.

   Keep a copy of every letter you give your landlord, and keep your mail receipt. Save the texts and emails you send your landlord, and any replies.

8. 8

   A valid order for protection counts as proof. So does a no contact order now in effect. A signed writing from a court official counts too. So does one from a law enforcement official (city, county, state or tribal). It must say you are a victim. A statement by a qualified third party also counts.

   Source:

   1. 504B.206, subd. 6(3), Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Law.
9. 9

   If you are the only tenant and you end your lease out of fear of violence, the lease ends on the date in your notice. You owe rent for the full month in which it ends. You give up all claims to your security deposit (money paid to secure the lease). You owe no other rent or charges for the rest of the lease.

   Source:

   1. 504B.206, subd. 3(a), Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Law.
10. 10

    One of several tenants may end the lease out of fear of violence. Then the lease ends for the other tenants at the later of the end of the month or the end of the rent period. All tenants owe rent for that full month. They give up all claims to the deposit. They owe no other rent or charges for the rest of the lease. Any of them may apply for a new lease.

    Source:

    1. 504B.206, subd. 3(b), Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Law.
11. 11

    A landlord cannot start an eviction case against you for ending your lease out of fear of violence. Another law names one case where a landlord still can.

    Source:

    1. 504B.206, subd. 3(d), Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Law.
12. 12

    A landlord cannot share what is in your notice or your proof that you are a victim. A landlord also cannot share your new address, or that you are a victim. A landlord who does so owes you $2,000 plus reasonable attorney fees and costs. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

    Sources:

    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. 504B.206, subd. 2(a), Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Law.
13. 13

    If a tenant dies, the landlord or the personal representative (the person who handles the estate) can end the lease. The law requires at least 2 months' written notice, hand delivered or mailed first class to the other party's address. It takes effect on the last day of a calendar month. The estate still owes rent and other money owed before and during the notice period.

    Source:

    1. 504B.265, subd. 2, Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Law.