Can I record video and audio while entering a tenants unit in MN?

Question

Help!!! I have a tenant that is making many false claims about things that I have done and I need to be able to document every single interaction with her which includes walking prospective tenants through her unit this weekend.  She is claiming she is going to call the police on me and notify the news and do everything in her power to come after me.  All because notified her that I was going to walk through her unit on Sunday in 2 days.  All I have done is attempt to notify her per the MN law that I have to give reasonable 24-hour notice before entering a unit.

Steve K. · Answer

You should ask your lawyer this question if you want real legal advice on the matter. But from my (non-lawyer) understanding, it's generally legal to film or record people without their consent in public where they should not expect privacy, but generally illegal when someone is in their home where they can expect privacy (state laws probably vary on this). You could ask her if it's okay to record, but that would probably be off-putting to both her and the prospective tenant.

Why are you showing the unit to prospective tenants before she moves out anyway? With someone like this, I would limit interactions with her as much as possible and wait to show the unit.

Over the years I've changed my approach on showing occupied units to prospective tenants and don't usually do it anymore for the following reasons:

Occupied units show poorly, which turns away the best prospective tenants, leaving only less qualified applicants and may actually take longer to rent the unit.

It's an inconvenience to the tenants and they often leave the place dirty or create bigger issues like you're dealing with, because they feel like their privacy is being violated (regardless of what they agreed to in the lease or what the law says).

It's an inconvenience to me to have to coordinate schedules with the existing tenants, prospective tenants, and myself.

Hard to manage expectations with the new tenant about the condition of the unit.

Things can go wrong: a late move-out from current tenant or longer than expected make-ready, appliance availability etc. could cause the next tenant not to be able to move in on the agreed-upon date.

Increased liability. What if the existing tenant claims something of theirs went missing during a showing? I actually have a client who had to buy their ex-tenant a new wedding ring to the tune of $15k when this happened to them, and whether or not a ring actually went missing is a mystery. What if pets are let out, something is damaged, or somebody you show the property is a bad person and they come back later to rob or sexually assault the existing tenant? There are bad people who use showings to case property, set up scams, etc. Anything bad that happens at that unit during this time may be blamed on you for having shown the unit, even if it is completely unrelated to you showing the unit.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

In the future, consider adding a clause to the lease that says you will record all visits with pictures, video, or audio for documentation purposes.

From what I can tell, Minnesota is a one-party state. That means conversations can be recorded as long as one person in the party is aware of the recording. It does not require permission. I would tell everyone, including the Tenant and the person you are showing the property to, that you will record audio of the showing for personal protection due to threats made by the Tenant. Set an audio recorder on your phone, carry it in your chest pocket or in your hand, and proceed.

Take her threats with a grain of salt. With 400 rentals and 13 years of management, I am threatened all the time and not one tenant has ever followed through.

As Steve mentions, you may want to change your process. My lease tells the Tenant that I will show their rental during their last 30 days of occupancy, but I only do it if the rental shows well and the Tenant is cooperative. If the Tenant is difficult or the rental doesn't show well, then I keep it off the market until they are out.

James Hamling · Answer

Documentation is key. Keep all interactions with tenant to a written record, NO phone conversations. And, bring those with in case police show up.

I would suggest going on MN Atty Generals site and looking up Landlord & Tenant Rights and Responsibilities, and leaving that whole thing when visit but a t minimum having a print-out of the portion related to the actions your doing.

Next, yes you can do audio recording BUT go that extra step and when enter announce that your recording your visit. If they say no, don't, you tell them you don't agree to that and it's a notice not a request that you will be recording for documentation and safety procedures.

Video is a bit more detailed. You can and can not. You can BUT you have to be careful not to capture any images of persons or personal potentially confidential things/information. There is a lot more details for video and if tenant is demanding no video it can get a whole lot tougher. I would stick to audio and taking pictures if need be.

Key thing is you must remain the definition of calm NO MATTER WHAT. And you'd probably do well to download and read that annual "manual" from atty general as well so you know it like the "gospel" because as a landlord it is.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

I do this quite regularly, particularly when entering a home occupied by a single woman. I don't want accusations of sexual harassment coming back to me.

I had a difficult tenant two years ago so I recorded all my interactions. We filed for eviction and two days later she filed for a protection order claiming I was stalking her. My only interaction with her was phone calls initiated by her, I had only been to the property once and at her request, I never entered her apartment, and I was never alone with her. She made quite a few accusations against me, to include stating that I said very specific things to her during my visit. I played the recording and proved it was all a lie. Well worth the effort.

Jim James · Answer

@Nathan Gesner

Thank you for the great insight this same tenant has already followed through with her actions and we are fresh out of court 2 months ago. That said, I have gotten confirmation from my lawyer that video\audio recording is legal to do when I enter the unit but he recommended only doing audio to not put gas on the fire. That said I have ZERO trust for this tenant and I feel it's worth the risk to do both video and audio recording.

I don't feel that I need put a clause in my lease to allow me to bring prospective tenants through there units because MN has a state law that allows it.  @Steve K.Thank you for the solid advice.  Although, I have a big problem with throwing a way a minimum of 1,700 just because a tenant doesn't was me to walk people through the unit before they move out.  Regarding the bad people that would want to case the unit I always show my tenants during the tour the cameras I have all over the building monitoring outside and common areas at all times.  I also show them the additional security that I have on the building.  Also sounds like a lot of work for a criminal to do there are a lot of easier options out there.

Can I record video and audio while entering a tenants unit in MN?

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