Facing Eviction in Minnesota: What Can I Do?
If you got an eviction notice or court papers in Minnesota, you have rights at every step. This page explains what your landlord must do before and during an eviction case. It also explains what you can do to answer, pay, or appeal.
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Before your landlord can file an eviction case for not paying rent, they must give you written notice. The notice must state the total amount you owe. It must also break down how much is unpaid rent, late fees, and other charges, and name who to pay.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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You have 14 days after you get the notice to pay what you owe or move out. If you do, your landlord cannot yet file the eviction case for that unpaid rent. Some cities require more than 14 days notice before that.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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Before filing an eviction case for unpaid rent, your landlord must send a written notice giving you 14 days to pay or move out. Some local governments may have an eviction notice period longer than 14 days. If your landlord skips this notice, the court must dismiss the case without prejudice (your landlord can file it again later). The court must also expunge the case (clear it from public court records).
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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To start an eviction case, your landlord must file a written complaint with the court. The complaint must describe your home and state the facts that let them take back possession. The court then sets your court date between 7 and 14 days after it issues the summons. In certain cases, the law allows a faster court date.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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Your eviction case is not shown to the public while it is open. It becomes public only after the court decides the case. Before then, only you, your landlord, and licensed attorneys helping either of you can see the case file.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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At the court date listed in your summons, you can answer the complaint and give the court your side of the case. You or your landlord can ask for a trial by jury instead of a judge deciding alone.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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It is a legal defense to eviction if your landlord's notice to quit (a letter telling you to move out) aimed to punish you. This is true even if punishing you was only part of the reason. It applies if, in good faith, you used your legal rights, like enforcing your lease, or reported a code violation to the government. If your landlord acted within 90 days after that, they must prove in court it was not to punish you.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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If your landlord sues you for not paying rent, you can stop the eviction. Pay the rent you owe, plus interest, court costs, and an attorney's fee of up to $5. You must also follow the other rules in your lease. Do this any time before you are removed, and you can stay in your home. This does not apply if your landlord also accuses you of a material violation of your lease (breaking an important lease rule).
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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Your landlord can accuse you of not paying rent and of a material violation of your lease (breaking an important lease rule). Both claims can be part of the same case. If your landlord does not prove that violation, you can still argue you do not owe the rent. The court then gives you up to 7 more days, counted from its decision, to pay what you owe.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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While your case is open, the court cannot make you pay money into court, post a bond, or pay your landlord directly. This is true before the court decides your case. This changes only if your case will take more than 10 days to finish. Then the court can require you to post up to one month's rent. This does not include any rent you already owed before your landlord filed the case.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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If the court decides for your landlord, it must immediately order that they get your home back. The court also immediately issues a writ of recovery (an order telling you to leave). The court must usually pause that order for up to 7 days right after it is issued. This pause does not apply to cases of serious danger or property damage, or certain other cases in the law. It also does not apply if you did not answer the case.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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If the court orders you to leave, the officer with that order will tell you and your family to leave within 24 hours. If you do not leave, the officer can bring help to remove you, your family, and your things by force. Your landlord pays the cost of that removal.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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If you lose your case, you have 15 days from the court's decision to appeal to the district court. To stay in your home during the appeal, you must give the court a bond, a payment you promise to make. The bond must ensure that all appeal costs are paid and that you obey the court's order. You must also pay your regular rent as it comes due. The court cannot make this bond include back rent, late fees, or other extra charges.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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The court must expunge your eviction case (clear it from public court records) in several situations. This includes if you win the case, if the case is dismissed for any reason, or if you and your landlord agree to it. It also happens automatically 3 years after the eviction was ordered.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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Say you lived under a contract for deed (buying the home from the seller). You may then get an automatic expungement (the court record erased) in one more case. The same applies if you lived in a home during a mortgage foreclosure (the bank taking the home). This applies only if the eviction case was based only on the redemption or cancellation period ending. It applies if you had already moved out before the case started. It also applies if you were still living there and never got the required notice first.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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