[MN] [MN Can I withhold a tenant’s deposit if they left without proper notice and violated the lease?
Hello, I have a question about tenants leaving a rental with 2 days' notice for one, and no notice at all from the other.
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Courts would not enforce 180 days on a month-to-month lease. Minnesota law controls. Under Minn. Stat. §504B.135, tenants need to give one full rental period’s written notice—usually about 30 days. Since they only gave 7 days, they owe an additional month of rent. You can withhold the security deposit to cover that.
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Hello, I have a question about tenants leaving a rental with two days' notice for one, and no notice at all from the other.
Lexi, Chatbot
I understand how frustrating that can be. How long had they been renting?
Six months for one and a year for the other.
Lexi, Chatbot
Have you communicated with them since they left?
Yes, after they left.
Lexi, Chatbot
Anything else the lawyer should know?
I’m mostly curious about the security deposit and whether short or no notice affects returning it.
Benjamin
I’m Benjamin, an attorney. What does your lease say about notice required to terminate? Was it month-to-month? What state are you in?
I’m in Minnesota. These two tenants were on 6-month leases. I’ll check my lease to see what it says. I don’t see any exact wording about notice. I used the template from the website—can you look at it?
Benjamin
If a fixed-term lease ends and has no notice requirement, the tenant does not have to give additional notice. Once the lease ends, you can only withhold the security deposit for damages or unpaid rent — not automatically for lack of notice.
Just to be sure: one tenant said they planned to renew, then left with no notice. Does that mean I can keep the deposit for the next month’s rent I expected?
Benjamin
Only if the lease required notice. Otherwise, no.
Okay, thank you.
Benjamin
Did that solve your issue?
My other tenant was month-to-month. They told me 7 days before the rental month started that they were leaving. The lease says 180 days' notice. Does that mean I can withhold their deposit?
Benjamin
Courts would not enforce 180 days on a month-to-month lease. Minnesota law controls. Under Minn. Stat. §504B.135, tenants need to give one full rental period’s written notice—usually about 30 days. Since they only gave 7 days, they owe an additional month of rent. You can withhold the security deposit to cover that.
Great to know. I’m curious about the receipts I must provide. Do I actually need to buy the replacement items (like locks) before returning the deposit?
Benjamin
You can deduct: unpaid rent, damages beyond normal wear and tear, and lawful charges in the lease. You cannot deduct for normal wear or things like carpet cleaning. You must send an itemized statement with receipts or estimates within 21 days. Locks are not deductible unless the tenant caused the issue.
What if keys weren’t returned?
Benjamin
That’s different — if keys weren’t returned, you can charge for rekeying because the tenant caused the need.
Last question — the lease allowed 3 pets max. I found out they had 6 cats. They said kittens under 6 months don’t count. Can I charge a pet fee?
Benjamin
Minnesota law doesn’t distinguish pets by age. Kittens still count. But your remedy for excess pets is lease termination, not retroactive fees. You can charge for any damage caused by pets.
Okay, thank you! My conflict is resolved.
Benjamin
Glad to hear it. Good luck.
Benjamin
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