Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Minnesota

Lease agreement.

I live in Sauk Rapids and in Febuary of 2006 Signed a six month lease for a two bedroom Apt. In August when the lease was due up we recieved no notification of an extention of lease, but we kept paying the same amount of rent each month and everything seemed fine. I assumed that the Lease would extened for another Six months. It has now been a year and I was given a Notice my my landlord,(Taped Note on Door) that we had underpaid or rent and that we now owe $143 in late fees and past due rent. I callled my leaseing agent ans asked what the terms of our lease were. He stated that after the six months our lease went month to month, Which subsiquently has a higher rent payment. This would be impossible because our lease was up in August of '06 and our rent remained the same. If they had renewed the lease in august for another Six months which is seems as though they did, the Leasing company would have to follow MN Statute 504B.145; Which requires the renters to be notified a minimum 15 days prior to an extension of lease that will last longer than two months. My real question is, What type of notification has to be given to atanant to increase the amount paid, and also changing the type of lease?


Asked on 2/19/07, 5:13 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Sam Calvert Calvert Law Office

Re: Lease agreement.

You will need to read the lease to see if there is some sort of cost-of-living adjustment. Other than that, I believe the general principal is that you have to be given notice--probably written. I suggest you write the landlord and ask for an explanation. If they kept cashing your checks, and if the lease does not provide otherwise, I would expect they would have a hard time convincing a judge that they could increase the rent without notice to you. I expect the crunch will come when you move out and they withhold some of your deposit, so I would document your position. I suggest you send the letters to the landlord with a "proof of mailing" from the post office, which costs about $1.00 and does not mark the envelope on the outside.

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Answered on 2/19/07, 10:37 pm


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