Minnesota Month to Month Lease

Minnesota Month to Month Lease — Notice Rules and Your Rights (2026)

By Oleg Kachko · Updated September 29, 2026

✓ Law Verified September 2026

Minnesota month to month lease rules answer the question every renter without a current lease eventually asks: how much notice do I have to give, how much does the landlord have to give me, and can they raise the rent or end it whenever they like? This guide gives the Minnesota answers in plain English, verified against official Minnesota sources as of September 2026.

Minnesota Month to Month Lease Rules at a Glance

Notice YOU must give to leave Under Minn. Stat. 504B.135, unless your lease says otherwise, a tenant must give written notice at least as long as the time between rent payments or 3 months, whichever is less. For a monthly tenancy that means one full rental period. The notice must reach the landlord before the last rental period begins, which usually means before the rent due date of the final month. The tenancy then ends on the last day of that period. If you want to move out at the end of a month, many tenants give notice by the last day of the month before it.
Notice the LANDLORD must give The rule in Minn. Stat. 504B.135 applies to landlords in the same way: written notice at least as long as the time between rent payments or 3 months, whichever is less. For a monthly tenancy that is one full rental period, delivered before the final period begins and effective on the last day of that period. Minnesota law does not give long-term tenants a longer notice period. A landlord’s notice cannot be shorter than the notice the lease requires the tenant to give.
Notice before a rent increase UNVERIFIED as a separate statute. Minnesota has no statute that sets a specific number of days for rent-increase notice. In practice a rent change for a month-to-month tenant generally requires the same one full rental period of written notice that 504B.135 requires, and a landlord’s rent-increase notice may not be shorter than the notice the lease requires the tenant to give. Check with your court or a legal aid office.
Reason required to end the tenancy No, either side may end it with proper notice

How a Month to Month Tenancy Starts in Minnesota

In Minnesota a month-to-month (periodic) tenancy can start in three ways: through an oral rental agreement, through a written lease that runs month to month, or when a fixed-term lease expires and the tenant stays on and keeps paying rent. The Attorney General calls these “periodic” leases, which renew each rental period when rent is due. Minn. Stat. 504B.135 governs ending them, and 504B.141 governs holdovers.

When a fixed lease ends and you stay: Under Minn. Stat. 504B.141, if a tenant stays after the lease expires without the landlord’s express agreement, the law implies a tenancy only for the shortest interval between rent payments under the old lease. Where rent was paid monthly, that is month to month. If your lease has an automatic renewal clause, Minn.

Stat. 504B.145 requires the landlord to send you a written reminder, by personal service or certified mail, that you must receive 15 to 30 days before your deadline to give notice to vacate. Without that reminder, the clause may not be enforceable against you.

Most renters land on a Minnesota month to month lease without ever signing one: the year lease ends, nobody calls, rent keeps getting paid and accepted. From that point the notice rules on this page control, not the expired lease’s term, though its other clauses usually carry over.

Ending A Minnesota Month to Month Lease: The Notice Rules

If you want to leave: Under Minn. Stat. 504B.135, unless your lease says otherwise, a tenant must give written notice at least as long as the time between rent payments or 3 months, whichever is less. For a monthly tenancy that means one full rental period. The notice must reach the landlord before the last rental period begins, which usually means before the rent due date of the final month. The tenancy then ends on the last day of that period.

If you want to move out at the end of a month, many tenants give notice by the last day of the month before it.

If the landlord wants you out: The rule in Minn. Stat. 504B.135 applies to landlords in the same way: written notice at least as long as the time between rent payments or 3 months, whichever is less. For a monthly tenancy that is one full rental period, delivered before the final period begins and effective on the last day of that period. Minnesota law does not give long-term tenants a longer notice period.

A landlord’s notice cannot be shorter than the notice the lease requires the tenant to give.

How the notice has to be given: The notice must be in writing. Minnesota requires written notice to end any periodic lease, even an oral month-to-month one. It must be delivered before the final rental period begins and takes effect on the last day of that period. Keep a copy and proof of delivery.

The mistake that costs renters a month of rent is timing. Under the Minnesota month to month lease rules, notice that arrives after the rent due date usually does not take effect until the end of the following rental period. Give notice in writing, keep proof of the date it was delivered, and count the days from that date.

Rent Increases on a Month to Month Tenancy

Required notice: UNVERIFIED as a separate statute. Minnesota has no statute that sets a specific number of days for rent-increase notice. In practice a rent change for a month-to-month tenant generally requires the same one full rental period of written notice that 504B.135 requires, and a landlord’s rent-increase notice may not be shorter than the notice the lease requires the tenant to give. Check with your court or a legal aid office.

A rent increase on a Minnesota month to month lease is really a notice ending the old terms and offering new ones, which is why Minnesota ties it to the same notice clock. An increase served with short notice is not owed until the proper period has run, and paying the old amount on time while you say so in writing keeps you current.

Does the Landlord Need a Reason?

In Minnesota, no. Either side can end a Minnesota month to month lease for any lawful reason with proper notice. The exceptions are the reasons that are always illegal: retaliation for a complaint, and discrimination against a protected class.

Even where no reason is required, the eviction process is. A landlord who ends a Minnesota month to month lease and then changes the locks, shuts off utilities, or removes belongings has skipped the court, and that is illegal in every state.

The Rights You Keep on a Month to Month Lease

Month-to-month tenants in Minnesota keep full state protections: – Deposits must be returned with interest within 21 days after the tenancy ends (504B.178). – The landlord’s habitability covenants apply (504B.161). – Retaliation is prohibited (504B.285 and 504B.441). – For unpaid rent, the landlord must give a 14-day pre-eviction notice before filing (504B.321). – Only a court eviction (504B.285 to 504B.371) can remove a tenant. Lockouts and utility shutoffs are illegal.

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Nothing about the Minnesota month to month lease weakens the deposit rules, the landlord’s duty to make repairs, the ban on retaliation, or the requirement to go through court before any eviction. The only thing that changes is how long each side has to say goodbye.

Leaving Cleanly: A Renter’s Checklist

Give the notice in writing with a specific move-out date, timed so it lands before the rent due date. Keep paying rent through the notice period; a landlord can accept rent and still hold you to the notice, and skipping the last month is the fastest way to lose a deposit.

Photograph the unit on the way out, return every key, and put your forwarding address in writing so the deposit deadline starts running. On a Minnesota month to month lease the last month is where most deposit disputes are born, and a dated paper trail ends nearly all of them.

If You Want to Stay: Turning Flexibility Into Security

Month-to-month is convenient until you need certainty. If you want to stay put, ask for a fixed-term lease in writing; a landlord who is happy with you usually says yes, and a signed term takes the short-notice risk off the table for both sides.

If the answer is no, keep your position strong the ordinary way: rent on time, repair requests in writing, and a copy of every notice. The Minnesota month to month lease gives the landlord a short clock, but it never gives them permission to skip the law.

Recent changes in Minnesota: A 2023 amendment effective January 1, 2024 removed the separate 14-day notice for unpaid rent from 504B.135 and added a statewide 14-day pre-eviction notice before a nonpayment eviction can be filed (504B.321). Saint Paul adopted an updated Tenant Protections Ordinance in 2025, and Ordinance 26-18 temporarily extends its pre-eviction filing notice to 60 days from May 14, 2026 through December 31, 2026.

Saint Paul also has a rent stabilization ordinance with a 3 percent annual cap, subject to exemptions.

Minnesota Month to Month Lease: Quick Answers

How much notice do I have to give to move out? Under Minn. Stat. 504B.135, unless your lease says otherwise, a tenant must give written notice at least as long as the time between rent payments or 3 months, whichever is less. For a monthly tenancy that means one full rental period.

The notice must reach the landlord before the last rental period begins, which usually means before the rent due date of the final month.

The tenancy then ends on the last day of that period. If you want to move out at the end of a month, many tenants give notice by the last day of the month before it.

Can the landlord end it for no reason? Yes, with proper notice, but never for a retaliatory or discriminatory reason, and never without the court process.

Does my old lease still apply? Usually its terms carry over to the Minnesota month to month lease except the length; the notice rules on this page replace the fixed term.

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Official Minnesota Sources & Resources

Making Your Minnesota Month to Month Lease Work for You

Flexibility is the whole point of the Minnesota month to month lease, and it cuts both ways: you can leave with short notice, and so can the landlord. Calendar the notice period the day you move to month-to-month, and give your own notice in writing, dated, and timed to the rent due date so it counts.

Every other tenant right still applies on the Minnesota month to month lease, the deposit rules, the repair duty, the ban on retaliation, and the court process before any eviction. A landlord who treats the Minnesota month to month lease as permission to skip those steps is breaking the law, not exercising a right.

This guide to the minnesota month to month lease was last verified against official sources in September 2026. Notice periods and just-cause rules have changed in several states since 2024, re-check before relying on a deadline.

More Minnesota Tenant Rights Guides

Disclaimer: This guide is informational only and is not legal advice. Landlord-tenant laws change and vary by city and county within a state. Verify current rules with your state, your local court, or a free legal-aid office before acting. If you are facing eviction, contact a local tenant attorney or legal-aid organization right away.

Renting? Protect your belongings — compare renters insurance at Home Insure Guide. Divorce involving a lease? See Divorce Help Guide. Unsafe housing / toxic mold injury? Some cases qualify — see Mass Tort Info.