By Nick Bartlett, Realtor and owner of Freedom Rental Property Management in Maple Grove, Minnesota.
This guide covers Minnesota rules for renting a single-family home or townhome. It isn’t legal advice; your city and your lease may add requirements.
Short answer: How to rent out your house in Minnesota: confirm your mortgage, HOA and insurance allow it, get a city rental license if your city requires one, set the rent from recent comparable leases, make the home safe, clean and as attractive as a house listed for sale, then market it, screen applicants against written criteria and sign a written Minnesota lease. The two mistakes that cost first-time landlords the most are pricing the rent too high and using a generic lease.
Key takeaways
- Switch from a homeowners policy to a landlord (dwelling) policy before the tenant moves in.
- Minneapolis, Brooklyn Park, Richfield, Golden Valley and other Twin Cities cities require a rental license and inspect rental homes.
- Minnesota landlords must disclose their screening criteria before taking an application fee and tell a rejected applicant within 14 days which criteria they missed (Minn. Stat. 504B.173).
- Pricing the rent too high is the most expensive first-time mistake: every month the house sits empty costs a full month’s rent.
- Prepare the house the way you would to list it for sale; a clean, attractive home with few defects draws the best tenants and the highest rent.
- In our experience, about half the people who schedule a tour never show up, which wastes a huge amount of time for an owner doing showings alone.
- Freedom Rental Property Management takes 80 to 100 move-in photos at every home, depending on the house, to protect the owner at move-out.
What are the steps to rent out your house in Minnesota?
Renting out your house takes 10 steps, and the order matters: the paperwork comes before the marketing, because a city license or an HOA rule can stop a lease you’ve already signed.
- Check your mortgage, HOA and insurance
- Get a city rental license
- Set the rent from real comparable leases
- Make the house safe and rent-ready
- Decide who will manage it
- Market and show the home
- Screen applicants the same way every time
- Sign a written Minnesota lease
- Collect the deposit and photograph the move-in
- Handle rent, repairs and entry by the rules
Step 1: Can you rent out your house with a mortgage, an HOA and your insurance?
You can rent out a house with a mortgage, but check three documents first.
Your mortgage
Owner-occupied mortgages require you to live in the home for a period after closing, 12 months on most conventional loans. After that, renting the home is allowed, but tell your lender and your servicer so the escrow and insurance records match.
Your HOA
Townhome and condo associations can cap the number of rentals, ban leases shorter than 12 months or require tenant registration. Read the declaration and rules before you plan on renting.
Your insurance
A homeowners policy covers a home you live in. Once a tenant moves in, you need a landlord (dwelling) policy, and the tenant carries renters insurance for their belongings. Our guide to rental property insurance in Minnesota explains the coverage, and our owners have told us their premium went down when they switched. Some owners also hold the rental in an LLC; see whether you need an LLC for rental property.
Step 2: Do you need a rental license to rent out your house in Minnesota?
Minnesota has no statewide rental license, but cities set their own. Minneapolis, Brooklyn Park, Richfield, Golden Valley and other Twin Cities cities require a license before a tenant moves in and inspect the home on a set schedule. Golden Valley, for example, inspects single-family rentals once every three years. Fees, inspection intervals and the paperwork differ by city.
We list each city’s licensing contact and inspection rules on our city pages, including Minneapolis, Brooklyn Park and Maple Grove.
Step 3: How much can you rent your house for?
Your house rents for what similar homes nearby have leased for in the last few months, adjusted for size, condition, garage, yard and school district. Online rent estimates are a starting point, but they can miss by hundreds of dollars a month because they can’t see the condition of your house or the homes they compare it to.
Setting the rent is harder than it looks, especially for a first-time landlord. New owners price too high far more than too low, and an overpriced house sits empty. Vacancy is a big cost: every month the house is empty costs a full month’s rent, plus the mortgage, utilities and lawn or snow care you’re still paying. On a $2,400 rental, one extra empty month costs more than pricing the rent $100 lower for an entire 12 month lease. Pricing it right and getting it rented sooner is what’s best for your bottom line.
The right rent depends on factors new landlords don’t know to weigh:
- The area. School district, commute and the street itself move rent more than square footage.
- What the market is doing. Rents rise and soften with demand, so last year’s number may not hold.
- Time of year. In our experience, summer brings the most renters in Minnesota; a house listed in December draws fewer applicants and may need a sharper price.
- Style of home. A detached house with a garage and yard, a townhome and a split-level each draw a different renter.
- The competition. How many similar rentals are listed nearby at the moment decides how fast yours goes.
A professional property manager weighs all of this every week. We’ll run a free rental analysis on your house from leases near you.
Step 4: How do you get your house ready to rent?
A rent-ready house is safe, clean, working and attractive. Prepare it the way you would to list it for sale. Renters compare your house with every other listing on their phone, and a clean, bright home with few defects attracts the highest-quality tenants and the highest rent. A tired, scuffed house draws fewer applicants, and the ones it draws are less picky because they have fewer options. Before you list it:
- Safety. Minnesota requires working smoke alarms (Minn. Stat. 299F.362) and carbon monoxide alarms within 10 feet of every sleeping room (Minn. Stat. 299F.51).
- Lead paint. For homes built before 1978, federal law requires a lead-based paint disclosure and the EPA pamphlet before the lease is signed (EPA real estate disclosure rule).
- Repairs. Fix anything a tenant would call about in the first month: dripping faucets, sticky doors, broken window locks, worn-out appliances.
- Service the furnace. A Minnesota winter is the worst time to find out the furnace is failing. Every home we manage gets an annual HVAC tune-up.
- Clean and rekey. Professional cleaning and new locks for every exterior door.
- Make it look good. Fresh neutral paint where walls are marked, clean carpets, working light bulbs, a tidy yard and a clean front entry. The first photo and the first 10 seconds of a showing decide whether a good applicant applies.
- Clear out personal items. Tenants rent the house, not your garage storage.
Step 5: Should you manage the rental yourself or hire a property manager?
Our opinion: hire a professional property manager. Property management is a part-time job, and it takes more time than an inexperienced owner expects to learn the rules and build the experience that keeps an owner out of trouble. Minnesota has a lot of rental laws, and they change nearly every legislative session. To get up to speed, start with our summaries of the 2024 and 2025 Minnesota rental law changes.
Lessons learned the hard way are expensive, and one bad tenant or one missed legal step costs more than years of management fees. A property manager handles marketing, screening, leases, rent collection, repairs, inspections and the legal notices, and has already made the mistakes on someone else’s dime.
What’s your time worth? The evictions we file are mostly for new clients who tried to manage on their own first, and an eviction with legal fees, lost rent and repairs costs an owner $8,000 to $14,000 in our experience. See what a property manager does and how much property managers charge in Minnesota.
Step 6: How do you market and show your rental house?
Good photos, an accurate description and a fast response win the best tenants. List the home on the major rental sites with bright, wide photos of every room, the rent, deposit, pet policy and move-in date. Answer inquiries the same day; good applicants are touring several homes.
Showings take more time than owners expect. In our experience, about half the people who schedule a tour never show up, so a landlord doing showings alone can drive across town several times for nobody. Confirm every showing the same day, and group them into set blocks so one no-show doesn’t waste a whole trip.
Showings can be agent-led or self-guided with a smart lock and an identity check. We cover the pros and cons in tenant self showings of a rental home.
Step 7: How do you screen tenants in Minnesota?
Screen every applicant against the same written criteria: income, rental history, credit and background. Minnesota adds specific rules under Minn. Stat. 504B.173:
- Before you take an application fee, disclose your screening criteria and the name, address and phone number of the screening company you use.
- Don’t take a fee if no unit is available, and don’t cash it until earlier applicants have been screened.
- Tell a rejected applicant within 14 days which criteria they didn’t meet.
- Don’t deny an applicant for an eviction case that is still pending, or for an eviction filing that didn’t end in a writ of recovery and order to vacate.
Zillow, Apartments.com and other listing sites will run rental applications for you, and they’re convenient. They’re also built to be tenant-friendly: the application collects less than you need, and you can’t add your own questions. That gap shows up when things go wrong, such as an unpaid balance, damage beyond the deposit or an eviction. The biggest problem: these sites won’t let you require a photo ID upload or collect the applicant’s Social Security number, and you need both to send an unpaid balance to collections later. We use our own application and screening so the owner has the full file.
Fair housing law applies to every decision. Apply the same criteria to everyone and keep records of why you approved or denied each application.
Step 8: What should a Minnesota lease include?
Use a written lease that complies with Minnesota law, not a generic national form. The lease names the rent, due date, late fee, deposit, term, who pays which utilities, pet rules, smoking rules, lawn and snow duties and the notice required to end the lease.
Minnesota requires the landlord to disclose in writing the name and address of the person managing the property and of the owner or the owner’s agent for legal notices (Minn. Stat. 504B.181). Minnesota leases also limit late fees and require specific notices, and the rules have changed several times; see our summaries of the 2024 and 2025 Minnesota rental law changes.
Why a template lease adds risk
A standard lease template you find online leaves gaps, and every gap is a risk the owner carries. Templates miss Minnesota-specific notices, lawn and snow terms, smoking and pet rules, and the clauses that matter when a tenant stops paying or damages the house. Freedom Rental Property Management uses its own Minnesota lease that we keep tweaking and tuning as rental laws change and as we learn from real situations, so the owner is covered from day one.
Step 9: How do you handle the security deposit and move-in?
The security deposit protects you against damage and unpaid rent, and Minnesota sets the rules for giving it back. Under Minn. Stat. 504B.178, you must return the deposit with 1% simple interest a year, or give the tenant a written statement of what you kept and why, within 3 weeks after the tenancy ends and you have their forwarding address. A landlord who keeps a deposit in bad faith can owe up to $500 in punitive damages on top of the deposit.
Your move-in record is what makes deductions stick. Freedom takes 80 to 100 photos at every move-in, depending on the house, far more than a typical move-in checklist, and the tenant reviews a condition report. It’s one example of how thorough we are, and it’s there to protect the owner. At move-out, the photos separate normal wear and tear from damage. Our guide to normal wear and tear vs tenant damage shows where the line falls.
Step 10: What rules apply once the tenant moves in?
Entry
A Minnesota landlord may enter only for a reasonable business purpose, such as repairs, showings or inspections, after at least 24 hours’ notice, and only between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. unless the tenant agrees otherwise (Minn. Stat. 504B.211). Emergencies are the exception.
Repairs
Minnesota landlords must keep the home fit to live in and in reasonable repair (Minn. Stat. 504B.161). Heat, water and safety issues need a response that day, not that week.
Rent and records
Collect rent electronically, keep a ledger and save every receipt. Rental income and expenses go on Schedule E, and the house (not the land) is depreciated over 27.5 years under IRS Publication 527.
Why hire Freedom to rent out your house?
Every step in this guide takes time, and a mistake at any one of them costs money. Freedom Rental Property Management handles all of it: the license, pricing, prep, marketing, showings, screening, the lease, the move-in photos, rent collection and repairs. We’re professional and experienced, we take care of the headaches, and we save you a lot of time while protecting you from the risks a first-time landlord doesn’t see coming. Owners hear from us once or twice a month: when we pay them and when we need an approval.
See what a property manager does, how much property managers charge in Minnesota and our flat-fee pricing. It starts with one phone call, and we can get started within 2 days.
Should you rent out your house or sell it?
If you’re still deciding, compare your net from a sale with the rent and your monthly costs. Our guide Should I Sell or Rent My House? walks through the math and the 3 year tax window, and the rent vs sell calculator runs it with your numbers. If your house is listed and isn’t selling, read why your house isn’t selling.
Frequently asked questions
How do I rent out my house for the first time in Minnesota?
Confirm your mortgage, HOA and insurance allow renting, get a city rental license if required, set the rent from recent comparable leases and make the home safe and rent-ready. Then market it, screen applicants against written criteria, sign a written Minnesota lease and document the move-in with photos.
Do I need a license to rent out my house in Minnesota?
Minnesota has no statewide landlord license, but Minneapolis, Brooklyn Park, Richfield, Golden Valley and other Twin Cities cities require a rental license and inspect the home. Check with your city before a tenant moves in.
Can I rent out my house if I still have a mortgage?
Yes. Owner-occupied mortgages require you to live in the home for a period after closing, 12 months on most conventional loans, and after that renting is allowed. Tell your lender and switch to a landlord insurance policy.
How do I know how much to charge for rent?
Compare leases on similar homes near you, then adjust for the area, the time of year, the style of home and how many competing rentals are listed. First-time landlords price too high more than too low, and every empty month costs a full month’s rent. A free rental analysis from a local property manager gives you a number based on real leases.
How long do I have to return a security deposit in Minnesota?
Three weeks after the tenancy ends and you receive the tenant’s forwarding address. Return the deposit with 1% simple interest a year, or send a written statement of the deductions. Keeping a deposit in bad faith can cost up to $500 in punitive damages.
Should I hire a property manager to rent out my house?
Hire a property manager if you live far away, don’t have time during the workday or don’t want to keep up with Minnesota landlord law. Freedom Rental Property Management charges a flat monthly fee with no markups on repairs; see our pricing page for details.
Ready to rent out your house? Freedom Rental Property Management handles every step in this guide for owners across the Twin Cities, from Plymouth and Maple Grove to Bloomington. See our service area and pricing.
Request a free rental analysis or contact us.
