Renting a home that was foreclosed in Minnesota: your rights

Your rights as a renter in Minnesota, in order

1. Foreclosure: Advice to Tenants notice

   With the foreclosure notice, for 1 to 4 unit homes

   If you rent in a one to four unit home, you should get a separate colored notice titled Foreclosure: Advice to Tenants. It says the foreclosure does not change your lease, you must keep paying rent unless you have a legal reason to withhold it, and your landlord must keep the place repaired. If the notice was not served, the person who should have served it can owe the tenant $500.

   Minn. Stat. § 580.042

2. No move-out during redemption, with limits

   Usually 6 months after the sheriff's sale

   The required notice says you cannot be asked to move during the redemption period except for lease violations or if your lease ends during that time. If your landlord redeems or stops the foreclosure, you may not have to move. If not, there will be a new owner when redemption ends.

   Minn. Stat. § 580.042, subd. 3

3. 90 days' notice after redemption ends

   Notice no sooner than the end of redemption

   If you rented during the redemption period under a lease that started after the mortgage was signed, the new owner must give at least 90 days' written notice to vacate, given no sooner than the day redemption ends, as long as you pay rent and follow the lease. Federal law sets the same 90-day floor. See [tenant notice after foreclosure](/notices/tenant-notice-after-foreclosure/).

   Minn. Stat. § 504B.285, subd. 1a(a); Pub. L. 111-22 § 702, note under 12 U.S.C. § 5220

4. A longer bona fide lease runs to its end

   If your lease runs 90+ days past redemption

   If your bona fide lease runs more than 90 days past the end of redemption, the new owner must let you stay until the lease ends and give 90 days' notice, unless the new owner or the next buyer will live there. A bona fide lease means you are not the owner or the owner's child, spouse or parent, it was an arm's length deal, and the rent is near market or subsidized. Section 8 tenants get the same lease protection.

   Minn. Stat. § 504B.285, subd. 1a(b), (c); 42 U.S.C. § 1437f(o)(7)

5. Leases signed after a foreclosure notice

   If you rented after the landlord got notice

   Once a landlord has notice of a foreclosure sale, it may generally offer only a short lease that ends by the end of the redemption period. Before taking rent or a deposit, it must tell you in writing about the foreclosure and when redemption ends. A landlord that breaks this rule can owe the tenant a $500 civil penalty.

   Minn. Stat. § 504B.151

6. Your security deposit

   Within 60 days after the landlord's interest ends

   When the landlord's interest ends, it must either return your deposit with interest or transfer it to the new owner and tell you the new owner's name and address. The new owner takes on the landlord's duties for the deposit. If it sends you a written notice of the amount, object within 20 days if the amount is wrong.

   Minn. Stat. § 504B.178, subds. 5, 6

Common questions in Minnesota