Nonrenewal Requirements

[Justin Nienhaus]

I have a single family home that is coming up on the end of the term.  I got word from one tenant that they would not being staying and the other does not have the ability to pay.  It's gets pretty sticky from there, but it is not important to my question.

How much notice do you have to give in Minnesota (St. Paul specifically) if you do not intend to renew a lease?

I want to be clear.  I'm not evicting them on the spot, I just do not wish to renew the lease for anyone currently in the property.  

[Marc Jolicoeur]

@Account Closed I don't think the specific answer is in the Minnesota landlord/tenant handbook but please look there first in case I am wrong.   I also picked up The Landlord's Guide to Minnesota Law which is the reference bible.   I highly recommend this publication for all MN investors.

https://homelinemn.org/publications/landlordsguide...

The reason the answer is elusive is because in MN it depends on how your lease is written.  If you lease requires a notice in order to terminate, then you do not have to do anything to renew the lease as it will renew automatically, unless you or the tenant give proper notice to terminate.

According to the book (p141), "If you have a pure, fixed-term tenancy, no notice is required to end the lease. It simply ends.  A one-year lease that starts on January 1 end runs through December 31 ends on December 31 without notice required by either side."

Continuing on p. 144, "While giving notice is not required in a fixed-term lease that does not specifically require a notice to vacate, it is often a good idea. Notice reminds your tenant that their lease end date is approaching.  It is a tenant's job to know when their lease ends and how much notice is required."