Does a Minnesota landlord have to give a receipt for cash rent?

Yes. A written receipt is due immediately if the cash is paid in person, or within three business days if it is not.

What if a Minnesota landlord does not give a receipt?

The tenant has an affirmative defense to a nonpayment eviction, and the case must be dismissed on a showing of a violation. The tenant may also recover reasonable attorney fees.

Does Minnesota require receipts for checks?

Section 504B.118 requires them for cash. It does not name checks or electronic payments.

Minnesota Rent Receipt Law for Landlords

Minn. Stat. 504B.118 requires a Minnesota landlord who receives rent or other payments in cash to give a written receipt immediately if the tenant pays in person, or within three business days if the cash is not paid in person. A landlord who breaks the rule faces an affirmative defense that can get a nonpayment eviction dismissed.

When does a Minnesota landlord owe a receipt?

Subdivision 2 is titled "Receipt for rent paid in cash." A landlord receiving rent or other payments from a tenant in cash must provide a written receipt. The rule is not limited to rent: a cash payment for a fee or another charge counts too.

Cash paid in person: the receipt is due immediately.
Cash paid some other way: the receipt is due within three business days.

The statute does not require a receipt for payments that are not in cash, so checks and bank transfers fall outside this subdivision.

What happens if the landlord does not comply?

Subdivision 4 gives the tenant an affirmative defense against an eviction action filed for nonpayment of rent if the landlord violates the section. Once the tenant shows a violation, the eviction action must be dismissed, and the tenant is entitled to reasonable attorney fees and any other equitable relief the court considers appropriate.

Example a made-up tenant hands you $1,200 in cash on the 1st and gets nothing in writing. You later file for nonpayment, claiming that rent never arrived. The tenant raises the missing receipt as a defense. If the court finds a violation, the case is dismissed and you may owe the tenant's attorney fees.

That outcome is why the receipt for cash is worth the thirty seconds it takes.

What does the same section say about online payment platforms?

Subdivision 3 applies when a landlord requires or permits rent to be paid through a digital payment platform, meaning an app or system under the landlord's control or run by a vendor under contract with the landlord. The landlord must offer an alternative if the platform is not working, and no fee may be charged for the alternative.

If you know the platform is down, you must restore access or offer another way to pay as soon as practicable. You may not take adverse action, such as filing an eviction or charging a late fee, when rent goes unpaid because both the platform and your alternative are not working for the tenant.

Is this section new?

The section was enacted in 2010 and amended by 2026 c 81 s 2, according to its history on the Revisor's site. Because it changed this year, read the current text rather than an older copy, such as a printed lease addendum or a template from a few years ago.

What should a cash receipt show?

The statute does not list contents, so write the receipt to prove the payment: date, amount, unit, period, and who took the money, signed. See what a rent receipt should include and whether landlords have to give receipts.

A simple receipt routine for Minnesota landlords

Because a missing cash receipt can end a nonpayment case, treat cash as the highest-risk payment type you take. Use a numbered receipt book with carbon copies, or a template you fill in and photograph. Write the date, the amount, the unit and the month, sign it, and give the tenant the original while the tenant is still standing there. For cash that arrives some other way, put a reminder on your calendar for the next business day so that the three-business-day limit never gets close. Keep the copies in the tenant's file. If a tenant would rather pay electronically, an online option removes the risk altogether.

How DoorKeeping fits in Minnesota

Rent paid by bank transfer or Zelle to your bank is not cash, and DoorKeeping matches those deposits to tenants, with a date and amount for each. If you do accept cash, record it the same day. This is general information, not legal advice. Check the current text of the law and your lease before you act.

Sources

Minn. Stat. 504B.118, Payment of rent (Office of the Revisor of Statutes), read Oct 30, 2026

Questions

Does a Minnesota landlord have to give a receipt for cash rent?: Yes. A written receipt is due immediately if the cash is paid in person, or within three business days if it is not.
What if a Minnesota landlord does not give a receipt?: The tenant has an affirmative defense to a nonpayment eviction, and the case must be dismissed on a showing of a violation. The tenant may also recover reasonable attorney fees.
Does Minnesota require receipts for checks?: Section 504B.118 requires them for cash. It does not name checks or electronic payments.