Minnesota Eviction Process: Notice Periods, Timeline, and Costs

Since January 1, 2024, Minn. Stat. § 504B.321, subd. 1a requires a written 14-day notice before you may file an eviction for nonpayment of rent, and the 14 days run from delivery or mailing. The notice must state the total amount due with a specific accounting of unpaid rent, late fees, and other charges, name the person and address where payment may be made, include statements about legal aid and financial assistance resources, and tell the tenant the landlord can file if the total is not paid or the tenant does not move out within 14 days. It must be delivered personally or by first class mail to the tenant at the address of the leased premises, and a copy must be attached to the complaint. If the notice is missing or defective the court shall dismiss the case without prejudice and expunge the court file, so you start over.

Minnesota sets no general statutory notice or cure period for non-rent lease violations; the notice you owe comes from the lease's own termination clause, so read it before you act. Violations of the covenant against unlawful activity under Minn. Stat. § 504B.171 and conduct that seriously endangers other residents or intentionally and seriously damages the property can be brought on the expedited track under § 504B.321, subd. 2, where the tenant appears five to seven days after the summons issues.

Under Minn. Stat. § 504B.135, either party may end a tenancy at will by written notice at least as long as the interval between rent due dates or three months, whichever is less, so a month-to-month tenancy generally takes one full rental period. Minnesota has no statewide just-cause requirement, but city ordinances do more work here than the statute: Saint Paul's Tenant Protections ordinance imposes its own pre-eviction filing notice, and § 504B.321, subd. 1a expressly defers to a longer locally required notice period.

Evictions are filed in the district court for the county where the property sits, with a $310 statutory first-paper fee plus a county law library surcharge that brings the total to roughly $320, and a separate $55 fee to issue the writ of recovery. Minnesota's filing fees are among the highest in the country, so confirm the current total with the court administrator before you file.

Minn. Stat. § 504B.321, subd. 1 sets the tenant's appearance not less than seven nor more than 14 days from the day the summons is issued, and the summons and complaint must be served at least seven days before that date. The tenant is not required to file a written answer and may answer orally at the hearing, which is why so many Minnesota eviction cases turn on what happens in the courtroom rather than on the paperwork.

Budget 14 days for the pre-filing notice, a week to file and serve, seven to 14 days to the hearing, then the writ of recovery and the sheriff's 24-hour notice to vacate before a lockout. A contested hearing, a continuance, a redemption payment, or a local ordinance imposing a longer pre-filing notice will push it well past two months.

Only a sheriff acting under a writ of recovery may remove a tenant in Minnesota. Locking a tenant out or intentionally interrupting utilities to force a move is a misdemeanor under Minn. Stat. § 504B.225, and § 504B.375 gives the tenant an emergency proceeding in which the court must immediately order possession restored if the exclusion was unlawful. Under § 504B.221 a tenant whose electricity, heat, gas, or water you interrupt may recover treble damages or $500, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney's fees, and that protection cannot be waived by the lease.

The 2023 housing package added the 14-day pre-filing notice for nonpayment at Minn. Stat. § 504B.321, subd. 1a effective January 1, 2024, with mandatory notice content and automatic dismissal plus expungement if it is skipped, followed by further tenant protections phased in through January 1, 2025. Saint Paul temporarily extended its pre-eviction filing notice from 30 to 60 days from May 14, 2026 through December 31, 2026, and § 504B.321, subd. 2 was amended again in the 2026 regular session.

The 14-day pre-filing notice is the single biggest trap in Minnesota right now, and a large number of landlord-facing websites still say no notice is required for nonpayment — that has been wrong since January 1, 2024, and following it gets your case dismissed and expunged. You must also attach a copy of the notice to the complaint. Local ordinances can require a longer pre-filing notice and the state statute defers to them: Saint Paul's Tenant Protections ordinance sets 30 days, temporarily extended to 60 days from May 14, 2026 through December 31, 2026, so check the city before you count the state's 14. An individual owner may appear without a lawyer, but a corporation or LLC generally must be represented by an attorney.

• Minn. Stat. § 504B.321
• Minn. Stat. § 504B.135
• Minn. Stat. § 504B.221