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Minnesota victim lease termination: what 504B.206 requires of you

DoorKeeping team

4 min read

Under Minn. Stat. 504B.206, a Minnesota tenant who fears imminent violence after domestic abuse, criminal sexual conduct, sexual extortion or harassment can end a lease without penalty by signed notice and a qualifying document. A sole tenant still owes the full month's rent for the month the tenancy ends and gives up the deposit claim. You must keep the information private on pain of $2,000 in statutory damages.

Who can end a Minnesota lease this way?

A residential tenant can end the lease without penalty or liability if the tenant or another authorized occupant fears imminent violence after being subjected to domestic abuse (as defined in section 518B.01), criminal sexual conduct (sections 609.342 to 609.3451), sexual extortion (609.3458) or harassment (609.749). A tenant cannot waive this right, and you cannot require a waiver (subdivision 5).

What must the notice say?

The tenant gives signed and dated advance written notice that:

  1. states the tenant fears imminent violence from a person named in a qualifying document against the tenant or an authorized occupant if they stay;
  2. states the tenant needs to end the tenancy;
  3. gives the date the lease will end; and
  4. gives written instructions for any remaining personal property under section 504B.271.

Delivery can be by mail, in person, or by a written channel the tenant regularly uses with you, and a qualifying document must come with it. The tenancy ends on the date in the notice. If the tenant moves out earlier, that alone does not end the tenancy for purposes of the section.

What counts as a qualifying document?

  • A valid order for protection under chapter 518B.
  • A no contact order currently in effect under section 629.75 or chapter 609.
  • A writing signed by a court official (including a judge, referee, prosecutor, probation officer or victim's advocate acting for the court) documenting the victimization and naming the perpetrator, if known.
  • A writing signed by a city, county, state or Tribal law enforcement official documenting it and naming the perpetrator, if known.
  • A statement by a qualified third party in the form the statute sets out: a licensed health care professional, a domestic abuse advocate or a sexual assault counselor.

You may ask for the perpetrator's name. If you ask, you must say you want it to protect other tenants. The tenant may decline for safety reasons, and the name cannot be a condition of ending the lease.

How much rent is owed after the notice?

A sole tenant is responsible for rent for the full month in which the tenancy ends, relinquishes all claims to the security deposit under section 504B.178, and is relieved of other rent or charges for the rest of the term. With several tenants, one of whom ends the lease this way, the lease for all remaining tenants ends at the later of the end of the month or the end of the rent interval. Every tenant owes the full month, and every tenant gives up the deposit claim. Any of them may reapply for a new lease.

Example a made-up sole tenant in St. Paul pays $1,100 a month and gives notice for an end date of the 12th. The tenant owes the whole $1,100 for that month. Nothing is owed for the months after, and the $1,100 deposit stays with you.

You also cannot start an eviction against a tenant who ended the lease this way, with the exception the statute cites to section 504B.285, subdivision 1, paragraph (b).

Confidentiality is the part with a price tag

You must not disclose the information in the notice, the information in the qualifying document, where the tenant relocated, or the tenant's status as a victim. None of it may go into a shared database or to any person or entity. It may be used as evidence in an eviction case, an action for unpaid rent or damages, deposit claims under 504B.178, with the tenant's consent, or as otherwise required by law. This overrides any release of information form the tenant signed earlier. A landlord who violates it owes the tenant $2,000 in statutory damages plus reasonable attorney fees and costs.

The text I read has no lock change rule. If a federal statute, regulation or handbook for a subsidized tenancy conflicts, you follow the federal rule (subdivision 7).

How DoorKeeping fits in Minnesota

DoorKeeping keeps the written notice, the proof the tenant gave and your reply together in the Minnesota tenant's file, with dates. Keep the notice and document only in that tenant's file, and out of anything you share. Any rent, deposit or lock decision waits for your one-tap approval. This is general information, not legal advice. Check the current statute and your lease before you act.

Sources

  1. Minn. Stat. 504B.206, Right of victims of violence to terminate lease (Office of the Revisor of Statutes), read Oct 30, 2026

Questions

Does a Minnesota tenant owe the rest of the lease after a violence notice?
No. A sole tenant owes the full month in which the tenancy ends and gives up the deposit claim, but is relieved of other rent for the remaining term.
What is the penalty for disclosing a victim's information in Minnesota?
$2,000 in statutory damages plus reasonable attorney fees and costs under 504B.206, subdivision 2.
Must a tenant name the abuser?
No. You may ask, but the tenant may decline for safety reasons and disclosure cannot be a precondition of ending the lease.

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