A well written lease makes good landlords and tenants

Did you know that a lease can be either oral or written.  State Statute defines a lease as "an oral or written agreement creating a tenancy in real property".  Minn. Stat. §504B.001

.  Regardless, not only is it best practice to have any lease in writing, if a lease is for a fixed term greater than 1 year it must be in writing.  Minn. Stat. §513.05.  Failure to have such a writing will void the lease.  Id.  This requirement for a writing is called the “Statute of Frauds”.  The purpose of the Statute of Frauds is to provide reasonable safeguards and ensure honest dealing.  Doyle v. Wohlrabe, 243 Minn. 107, 66 N.W.2d 757 (1954). 

Tenant Issues Can Be a Minefield, Don’t Go It Alone

The 4 corners of a contract prevailed this past Monday.  A landlord had entered into a settlement agreement with a tenant.  The court upheld an eviction based on a breach of the settlement agreement.  Don't go it alone if you are a landlord with tenant issues.  I can guide you through the intricacies of landlord/tenant law. 

In the case of Kleinman Realty Co. v. Talbot, 2011 WL 1938184 (Minn. Ct. App. May 23, 2011), the Court of Appeals determined that, in a landlord/tenant situation, the express words of a settlement agreement govern.  This is in spite of the Court's sympathies to the tenant for her situation and recognition that the district court approached this case in a spirit of charity.  The Court stated:

It is awkward for us to describe the district court's abundance of compassion with the usual legal tags of "erroneous" or "abuse of discretion."  But our mandate is to correct legal errors, and we are bound here to conclude that the district court made a decision more generous toward a tenant than the law allows.

If you rent make sure you have your license

Certain cities require a license if you desire to rent all or part of your property.  For those cities that require a license the property must continually meet the conditions of the license.  If you rent your property and do not have a required license you could be subject to criminal prosecution and a civil lawsuit.  Call me if you intend to or do rent your property and I can assist in determining that you are in compliance with local, state and federal regulations.