How to Evict a Roommate in Minnesota (and Other Household Situations)
What Minnesota law says about roommates who are not on the lease, guests who won't leave, family members, renting a room in your own home, and tenancies at will — each with the statute or official source.
Short answer: Minnesota defines a 'residential tenant' as a person occupying a dwelling under an oral or written lease or contract that requires payment of money or services, plus all other regular occupants of that dwelling unit. A lease can be oral. So a roommate who regularly lives in the unit may count as a residential tenant for many purposes even if not on the written lease; whether they have rights against the landlord under the lease depends on the facts. Minn. Stat. § 504B.001, subds. 8, 12
| Roommate not on the lease | Minnesota defines a 'residential tenant' as a person occupying a dwelling under an oral or written lease or contract that requires payment of money or services, plus all other regular occupants of that dwelling unit. A lease can be oral. So a roommate who regularly lives in the unit may count as a residential tenant for many purposes even if not on the written lease; whether they have rights against the landlord under the lease depends on the facts. |
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| Removing a roommate or subtenant | Minnesota allows removal of a tenant only through a court eviction action followed by a writ executed by the sheriff; lockouts, utility shutoffs and similar self-help are not allowed. 'Landlord' includes a lessee in control of rental property, so a tenant who sublets to a roommate must give proper written notice and then file an eviction action if the roommate stays. Many leases allow subletting only with the landlord's consent; the original tenant stays responsible to the landlord for the subtenant's rent and damage. |
| Guests who won't leave | No statute sets a time after which a guest becomes a tenant. A person who has unlawfully occupied property or unlawfully keeps possession may be removed through an eviction action for unlawful detention; 'eviction' covers removing a tenant or occupant by court process. A guest who becomes a regular occupant may be treated as a residential tenant. A 'license' (a personal privilege to be on property without any interest in it) is defined separately in § 504B.001, subd. 9. |
| Removing a family member or partner | No statute specifically addresses removing a family member or partner. Regular occupants of a dwelling are included in the definition of residential tenant, and an eviction action may be used to remove a tenant or occupant who unlawfully keeps possession. Where there is domestic abuse, an order for protection may also address who stays in the home. |
| Renting a room in your own home (lodgers) | No statute — Minnesota's landlord-tenant chapter (ch. 504B) has no separate section for lodgers, roomers or boarders in an owner's home. A person who occupies a dwelling under an oral or written agreement to pay money or provide services is a residential tenant, and is removed through an eviction action. |
| Tenancy at will | A tenancy at will is one where the tenant holds possession with the landlord's permission but without a fixed ending date. Either party may end it with written notice at least as long as the interval between rent due dates or three months, whichever is less. |
| Hotel and extended-stay guests | Minnesota's innkeeper law covers hotels, motels, resorts, boarding houses and furnished apartment houses held out for transient occupancy, meaning occupancy the parties intend to be temporary. There is a rebuttable presumption that occupancy is not transient if the unit is the guest's sole residence. An innkeeper may remove a guest for listed reasons such as nonpayment or disorderly conduct, and a guest who stays after being asked to leave for those reasons commits a misdemeanor. No fixed number of days is set; a long-term stay that is the guest's only residence may be treated as a tenancy. |
Never remove someone by changing the locks or taking their belongings: if the person has become a tenant, only a court can order them out. If there is violence or a threat, call 911 and ask about a protective order.
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Minnesota eviction laws · Free legal help in Minnesota · Roommate rules in other states
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.