Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Minnesota

Residetial safety
I have an individual who is renting a friends garage. There is no formal agreement written for this arrangement. The renter has been using chemicals to melt gold and other precious metals bought at estate sales so he can resell the ''pure'' metals. The garage owner had not been aware that the renter has been doing this for the last several months.

What are the potential risks for the garage owner if there is an accident or investigation regarding what the renter is doing?

Asked on 12/14/08, 8:24 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Steven Vatndal Law Office of Steven J. Vatndal

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Re: Residetial safety

Although the landlord is probably not responsible for any criminal violations that occur (as long as he is not aware of them), the landlord is responsible for civil law and ordinance violations and also must disclose this activity to potential buyers in the future.

I don't have enough information to list all possible civil and ordinance violations, but a few occur to me right away:

the tenant's activity may be regulated by state statutes and rules concerning public health and environmental protection (these may also require special clean-up proceedures once the activity stops)

also, the activity may be restricted or prohibited by zoning or other county or city ordinances.

Without a written lease, this is probably a month-to-month tenancy that can be terminated with one-month's notice (I can't say for sure without more details). Your friend should consider terminating this rental ASAP.

Please e-mail me directly with any further questions at

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Answered on 12/15/08, 8:27 am

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