Living here / Renting in Minnesota
Your security deposit in Minnesota: a three-week clock, and what it costs a landlord when it runs out
Minnesota gives a landlord three weeks after a tenancy ends to return a deposit or explain in writing why not. Here is the clock day by day, the penalties in the statute, and what to do before and after you hand back the keys.
Byline pending. Compiled from public sources; awaiting a named contributor. Compiled .
A rental information center sign on an apartment building in the Stevens Square neighborhood of Minneapolis. Illustrative: not the landlord or building discussed in this guide.
Illustrative. Photo: Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0. Not taken by MNIRL; resized. Credits
What should I do?
Read from the sources below
Who this applies to
Anyone renting a home in Minnesota who paid a security deposit, now or in the past. Especially those within weeks of moving out.
By when
The landlord's deadline is three weeks after the tenancy ends. Your preparation belongs in the weeks before you leave.
Whom to call or check
- LawHelp MinnesotaFind free legal help for tenants
- Attorney General's consumer line651-296-3353 or 800-657-3787
What to do
- Before you leave, give your forwarding address to the landlord in writing and keep a copy.
- Ask in writing for a move-out inspection. You can ask no earlier than five days before the tenancy ends.
- Photograph every room, dated, and keep move-in photos or any initial inspection notes.
- Count three weeks from the day the tenancy ends and the landlord has your address. Mark that day.
- If nothing has been mailed by then, speak to a legal aid group or tenant attorney about conciliation court.
This is a plain-language reading of the statute, not legal advice, and it has not had a lawyer's review.
Quick read
- The clock
- Three weeks after the tenancy ends, once the landlord has your mailing address
- A landlord must
- Return the deposit with interest, or send written, specific reasons for what is kept
- If it is kept wrongly
- The amount again as a penalty, plus up to $500 if a court finds bad faith
- Who must prove it
- The landlord, in court, for every dollar withheld
Most renters learn about the deposit rules after the move-out, when the money does not come back. Minnesota's rule is more specific than most people expect, and it works as a clock: the landlord has a fixed time to return the deposit or explain in writing why not, and the penalties for missing it are written into the same statute. This guide walks through that clock with the section numbers, so you can check anything here against the law yourself.
The deposit clock, in days from the end of the tenancy
Timeline of the Minnesota security deposit deadline, counted in days from the end of the tenancy. A move-out inspection can happen no earlier than 5 days before the end. On day 0 the tenancy ends. By day 21, the landlord must return the deposit with interest or send a written statement of specific reasons for any amount kept. A letter mailed by then counts. After day 21 the landlord is exposed to damages. As an example, if the tenant files suit on day 28, keeping the deposit is presumed to be in bad faith unless the landlord returns it within two weeks, which is day 42.
The clock starts when you give an address
Section 504B.178 says the landlord must act within three weeks after the tenancy ends and after receiving your mailing address or delivery instructions. That second condition matters. If the landlord has no way to reach you, the three weeks have not started. Give the address in writing before you leave and keep a copy.
The landlord meets the deadline by mailing the deposit, or the written statement, first class and correctly addressed within the three weeks. The letter does not have to arrive by day 21, only be mailed.
| Rule | What the statute says | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Deadline | Three weeks after the tenancy ends and the landlord has your mailing address | 504B.178, subd. 3 |
| What must come back | The deposit with interest, or a written statement of the specific reasons for keeping any part | 504B.178, subd. 3 |
| Mailing counts | First class mail, postage prepaid, within the three weeks | 504B.178, subd. 3(b) |
| Interest | 1 percent a year, simple; amounts under $1 excluded | 504B.178, subd. 2 |
| Burden of proof | On the landlord | 504B.178, subd. 3(c) |
| Penalty | The amount withheld plus interest, on top of the wrongly withheld amount | 504B.178, subd. 4 |
| Bad faith | Up to $500 per deposit; presumed after a missed deadline unless paid within two weeks of a suit | 504B.178, subd. 7 |
| Inspections | You may request a move-out inspection, no earlier than five days before the end | 504B.182, subd. 2 |
| Waiver | Void if a lease tries to waive it | 504B.178, subd. 10 |
What a landlord may keep
The statute allows two reasons: rent or other money you owe under the agreement, and the cost of restoring the unit to its condition when you moved in, with ordinary wear and tear excepted. The statute does not define wear and tear, and we found no list in it. In a dispute the landlord carries the burden of proof for every dollar withheld, so the practical question is what evidence each side has.
That is where the inspections come in. Section 504B.182 gives you the option of an initial inspection near the start of the tenancy and a move-out inspection near the end, with you present, so that problems can be named and fixed before they come out of the deposit. You have to ask. If you do not, the landlord's duty to arrange one is discharged. Photos or videos can replace an inspection when you agree and the landlord acknowledges them in writing.
When the clock runs out
A landlord who misses the three weeks, or does not return the deposit as required, is liable for the amount withheld plus interest as a penalty, in addition to the wrongly withheld money itself. Bad-faith retention adds punitive damages of up to $500 per deposit. And once the three weeks have passed, keeping the deposit is presumed to be in bad faith unless the landlord returns it within two weeks after a suit begins.
What a wrongly kept deposit can cost the landlord
Two stacked bars for a $1,200 deposit. If the landlord wrongly keeps all $1,200 and has to be sued, the exposure is the $1,200 itself, a penalty equal to the amount withheld, which is another $1,200, and punitive damages of up to $500 if a court finds bad faith: up to $2,900 plus interest. If the landlord wrongly keeps $400, the exposure is the $400, a $400 penalty and up to $500 in punitive damages: up to $1,300 plus interest.
The money is not the whole story. These are statutory ceilings and presumptions, not promises of an award. A judge decides what is owed, and the landlord can contest the facts. But the numbers show why the written statement matters: a landlord who sends one on time, with specific reasons, stays outside most of this section.
What not to do
Do not skip the last month's rent and tell the landlord to take it out of the deposit. Section 504B.178, subdivision 8, bars it, with limited exceptions for some month-to-month tenancies, and a tenant who does it can owe a penalty on top of the rent. If you think the deposit is owed, collect it afterward through the process above.
A lease cannot waive these rules. The statute says an attempted waiver by contract or otherwise is void.
What differs by situation
The statute covers deposits that secure a residential rental agreement and excludes an advance payment of rent. If your landlord sold the building, the old and new landlord have 60 days to transfer or return the deposit, and the new owner steps into the old one's obligations. Your city may add its own rules. We did not check them.
What to do
Before you move out, give your forwarding address in writing, ask in writing for a move-out inspection, and photograph every room with the date visible. Mark day 21 in your calendar. If nothing has been mailed by then, talk to a legal aid group or tenant attorney about filing in conciliation court, which the statute allows in the county where the rental is or where the landlord lives.
What we could not confirm
We have not had this reviewed by a lawyer. The statute does not say which day ends a tenancy when someone leaves early, so a dispute over that date is a question for a court. We did not check conciliation court fees or dollar limits, or any city ordinance. We did not read a lease or speak to a landlord or tenant. This is a plain-language reading of the statute, not legal advice.
How this was made
Primary sources (2)
- Date checked
- Sources opened and read on . Rules and prices change; confirm with the source before you act.
- Method
- We read the full text of Minnesota Statutes sections 504B.178 and 504B.182 on the revisor's site on the date shown and built the timeline and the exposure figures from the subdivisions. The dollar examples are our arithmetic. We did not read any lease, interview a landlord or tenant, or check city ordinances.
- Review status
- Draft AI research draft, human review pending. No named person has reviewed this page, and nobody from MNIRL has checked it in person. What our labels mean.
What we do not know
- Which day ends the tenancy when a tenant leaves before the lease ends.
- Conciliation court fees and dollar limits.
- Any city rules in Minneapolis, Saint Paul or elsewhere that add to the state statute.
- How courts have treated 'ordinary wear and tear' in practice.
Found a mistake?
Email rice.john.nextgenai@gmail.com with the page and a source. We review each one and note corrections on the page.
Every claim, with its source
Each line shows what was claimed, the label for how we know, the page it came from and what it does not establish. What these labels mean.
Minnesota Statutes 504B.178, subdivision 3, requires a landlord, within three weeks after the tenancy ends and after receiving the tenant's mailing address or delivery instructions, to return the deposit with interest or give the tenant a written statement of the specific reason for withholding any part of it.
Official source checkedSource: revisor.mn.gov · Checked by AI research draft, human review pending
Limits: Statute text only. The statute does not say which day counts as the end of the tenancy when a tenant leaves before the lease ends. A court, not this page, decides that.
Placing the deposit or the written statement in the U.S. mail as first class mail, postage prepaid, correctly addressed, within the three weeks is enough to meet the deadline (subdivision 3, paragraph b).
Official source checkedSource: revisor.mn.gov · Checked by AI research draft, human review pending
Limits: The statute speaks of first class mail. It does not mention email or text, so we do not say whether those count.
A landlord may keep only amounts reasonably necessary to cover unpaid rent or other money owed under the agreement, or to restore the unit to its condition at the start of the tenancy, ordinary wear and tear excepted. In any court action the landlord has the burden of proving the reason (subdivision 3).
Official source checkedSource: revisor.mn.gov · Checked by AI research draft, human review pending
Limits: What counts as ordinary wear and tear is not defined in the statute.
The deposit earns simple, non-compounded interest at 1 percent a year, counted from the first day of the month after the deposit was fully paid. Interest under $1 is excluded (subdivision 2).
Official source checkedSource: revisor.mn.gov · Checked by AI research draft, human review pending
Limits: Our example that interest on $1,200 over a year is about $12 is our arithmetic, not a figure from the statute.
A landlord who fails to send the written statement on time, or to return or transfer the deposit as required, is liable for damages equal to the amount withheld plus interest, as a penalty on top of the wrongly withheld amount (subdivision 4). Bad-faith retention adds punitive damages of up to $500 per deposit (subdivision 7).
Official source checkedSource: revisor.mn.gov · Checked by AI research draft, human review pending
Limits: Our $2,900 and $1,300 totals in the chart are arithmetic on a $1,200 deposit. A court decides any award.
If a landlord did not comply with the three-week rule, keeping the deposit is presumed to be in bad faith unless the landlord returns it within two weeks after an action to recover it begins (subdivision 7).
Official source checkedSource: revisor.mn.gov · Checked by AI research draft, human review pending
Limits: A presumption can be challenged in court. The chart's day-28 lawsuit is an example date, not a rule.
A tenant may not withhold the last month's rent on the grounds that the deposit should cover it. Doing so creates a presumption of that reason and can make the tenant liable for a penalty plus the rent (subdivision 8).
Official source checkedSource: revisor.mn.gov · Checked by AI research draft, human review pending
Limits: The statute carves out some month-to-month situations. Read subdivision 8 or ask a legal aid group before relying on the summary.
An action to recover a deposit, including in conciliation court, can be brought in the county where the rental property is, or at the tenant's choice in the county where the landlord lives (subdivision 9). A landlord's attempted waiver of the section is void (subdivision 10).
Official source checkedSource: revisor.mn.gov · Checked by AI research draft, human review pending
Limits: Conciliation court filing fees, dollar limits and forms were not checked.
Section 504B.182 requires a landlord, at the start of a tenancy or within 14 days of the tenant moving in, to tell the tenant they may request an initial inspection, and to tell the tenant before the end of the tenancy they may request a move-out inspection and be present. The move-out inspection is made at a reasonable time no earlier than five days before the tenancy ends.
Official source checkedSource: revisor.mn.gov · Checked by AI research draft, human review pending
Limits: Photos or videos the landlord acknowledges in writing can stand in for an inspection when the tenant agrees (subdivision 1, paragraph b). A landlord who fails to give notice of the inspections is also liable under 504B.178 subdivision 4.
The deposit rules in 504B.178 apply to tenancies that began or were renewed on or after July 1, 1973 (subdivision 11).
Official source checkedSource: revisor.mn.gov · Checked by AI research draft, human review pending
Limits: Applies to deposits that secure a residential rental agreement. An advance payment of rent is outside the section (subdivision 1).
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