A Minnesota Eviction Moves in Days, Not Months — and a Tenant Can Undo It by Paying $5 Plus the Rent

Eviction is the fastest civil proceeding most people will ever be part of. A complaint filed on Monday can have a hearing inside two weeks and a sheriff at the door 24 hours after the writ issues.

And it is also one of the easiest to lose on a technicality — from either side. A landlord who skips a notice gets the case dismissed and expunged. A tenant who does not understand the redemption right gives up a statutory second chance that survives right up until the moment possession changes hands.

Here is the actual sequence.

Step one: the 14-day notice — residential only, and it is jurisdictional in effect

Before filing a nonpayment eviction against a residential tenant, Minn. Stat. § 504B.321, subd. 1a(a) requires written notice “specifying the basis for future eviction action,” and the statute prescribes its contents:

(1) the total amount due; (2) a specific accounting of the amount of the total due from unpaid rent, late fees, and other charges under the lease; (3) the name and address of the person authorized to receive rent and fees on behalf of the landlord;

plus three statements that must appear verbatim — the right to seek legal help and the Legal Aid / LawHelpMN referral; the financial-assistance referral to county or Tribal social services, MNBenefits.mn.gov, and 2-1-1; and:

“Your landlord can file an eviction case if you do not pay the total amount due or move out within 14 days from the date of this notice. Some local governments may have an eviction notice period longer than 14 days.”

Delivery is prescribed too. Paragraph (b): “personally or by first class mail to the residential tenant at the address of the leased premises.”

And the consequence of skipping it is severe. Section 504B.321, subd. 1(d):

If applicable, the person filing a complaint must attach a copy of the written notice described in subdivision 1a. The court shall dismiss an action without prejudice for failure to provide a notice as described in subdivision 1a and grant an expungement of the eviction case court file.

Shall dismiss. And shall expunge. A landlord who files without the notice does not merely lose the motion — the tenant walks away with the record cleared. Meanwhile the landlord has paid a filing fee, waited two weeks, and must start the 14 days over.

Two limits worth flagging precisely. First, subdivision 1a is written in terms of a “residential tenant” — it is a residential requirement, and commercial leases are governed by their own notice and default terms. Second, the statute expressly contemplates that a local government may impose a longer notice period, and directs that the longer period controls. Check the city ordinance before counting to 14.

Step two: the complaint and a hearing 7 to 14 days out

Minn. Stat. § 504B.321, subd. 1(a) requires a complaint filed with the court “stating the full name and date of birth of the person against whom the complaint is made, unless it is not known, describing the premises of which possession is claimed, stating the facts which authorize the recovery of possession, and asking for recovery thereof.”

Missing identifying information is not fatal. Paragraph (b): “The lack of the full name and date of birth … does not deprive the court of jurisdiction or make the complaint invalid.”

Then the speed. Paragraph (c):

The appearance shall be not less than seven nor more than 14 days from the day of issuing the summons, except as provided by subdivision 2.

Seven to fourteen days. That is the entire window in which a tenant must find counsel, assemble proof of payment, and prepare a defense — and in which a landlord must be ready to prove its case.

Subdivision 2 provides an expedited track for actions brought under § 504B.171 or on the basis that a residential tenant “engages in behavior that seriously endangers the safety of other residents, or intentionally and seriously damages the property of the landlord or a tenant.” The filer must submit “an affidavit stating specific facts and instances in support of why an expedited hearing is required.” Generalities do not qualify — and abusing the expedited process carries a civil penalty.

Note a change to this subdivision. Laws 2026, ch. 81, § 5 amends § 504B.321, subd. 2 effective August 1, 2026, and applies to eviction actions filed on or after that date. It adds a ground for expedited treatment where a residential tenant “assaults the landlord or the landlord’s employees or contractors,” defining “assault” by reference to Minn. Stat. § 609.02, subd. 10, and it raises the civil penalty for abuse of the expedited hearing process to up to $750. If you are filing or defending on or after August 1, read the amended subdivision rather than the version described here.

Step three: redemption — the provision tenants most often do not know about

This is the heart of Minnesota nonpayment practice. Minn. Stat. § 504B.291, subd. 1(a):

A landlord may bring an eviction action for nonpayment of rent irrespective of whether the lease contains a right of reentry clause. Such an eviction action is equivalent to a demand for the rent.

And then:

In such an action, unless the landlord has also sought to evict the tenant by alleging a material violation of the lease under section 504B.285, subdivision 5, the tenant may, at any time before possession has been delivered, redeem the tenancy and be restored to possession by paying to the landlord or bringing to court the amount of the rent that is in arrears, with interest, costs of the action, and an attorney’s fee not to exceed $5, and by performing any other covenants of the lease.

Read that carefully, because four things in it decide cases.

• “At any time before possession has been delivered.” Not before the hearing. Not before judgment. Not before the writ issues. Before possession actually changes hands. A tenant with the money on the courthouse steps still has the right.
• “[A]n attorney’s fee not to exceed $5.” That is the statute, unamended in this respect for a very long time, and it is why a landlord’s legal spend on a nonpayment case is not recoverable through the redemption mechanism.
• The exception is the landlord’s lever. If the landlord also pleads a material lease violation under § 504B.285, subd. 5, the redemption right in this paragraph does not apply. That pleading decision is strategic and should be made deliberately, not reflexively.
• A tenant short on costs is not out of options. Paragraph (b): if the tenant has paid the rent arrears but cannot pay “the interest, costs of the action, and attorney’s fees,” the court “may permit the tenant to pay these amounts into court and be restored to possession within the same period of time, if any, for which the court stays the issuance of the order to vacate under section 504B.345.”

Two evidentiary points in the same subdivision:

Money orders create a rebuttable presumption of payment. If the tenant produces copies of money orders or original receipt stubs that total the rent, bear dates approximately corresponding to when rent was due, and (for copies of money orders) are payable to the landlord, “[t]here is a rebuttable presumption that the rent has been paid.” The landlord rebuts it “by produc[ing] a business record that shows that the tenant has not paid the rent,” and may introduce other evidence as well.

Accepting partial rent can waive the case — unless it is papered. Paragraph (c): the parties “may agree only in writing” that partial payment accepted before the order for restitution issues “may be applied to the balance due and does not waive the landlord’s action to recover possession … for nonpayment of rent.” Only in writing. A landlord who takes a partial payment on a handshake has a serious problem with its own case.

Step four: the writ, and 24 hours

If the landlord prevails, the court issues a writ of recovery of premises and order to vacate. Under Minn. Stat. § 504B.361, subd. 1, the state court administrator develops the uniform form, and the writ itself must carry the statement: “You have the right to seek legal help. If you can’t afford a lawyer, free legal help may be available. Contact Legal Aid or visit www.LawHelpMN.org …”

Then execution. Minn. Stat. § 504B.365, subd. 1(a):

The officer who holds the order to vacate shall execute it by demanding that the defendant, if found in the county, any adult member of the defendant’s family who is occupying the premises, or any other person in charge, relinquish possession and leave, taking family and all personal property from the premises within 24 hours.

And if nobody is there. Paragraph (c): if the defendant cannot be found in the county and there is no person in charge, “the officer shall enter the premises, breaking in if necessary, and remove and store the personal property of the defendant at a place designated by the plaintiff … .”

Removal and storage of property are governed by subdivision 3, with motions concerning removal or storage under subdivision 4 — and subdivision 5 provides a penalty and states that waiver is not allowed.

The timeline, compressed

Practical guidance

Landlords:

1. Send the 14-day notice and get the accounting right. A “specific accounting” separating rent from late fees from other charges is a statutory element, not a courtesy. An inflated or unexplained number is the easiest thing in the case to attack.
2. Attach the notice to the complaint. Subdivision 1(d) is not discretionary.
3. Check the local ordinance before counting days.
4. Decide the § 504B.285, subd. 5 question deliberately. Pleading a material lease violation alongside nonpayment changes the redemption analysis, and it changes what you have to prove.
5. Never accept a partial payment without a signed writing tracking § 504B.291, subd. 1(c).
6. Bring the business records. They are what rebuts the money-order presumption.
7. Do not confuse possession with collection. An eviction recovers the premises; recovering the money is a separate judgment with its own enforcement path — see our conciliation court guide and our garnishment and exemptions guide.

Tenants:

1. Do not miss the hearing. The window is 7 to 14 days and it does not reopen because you did not read the mail.
2. Look for the notice. If a nonpayment case was filed against you as a residential tenant without the 14-day notice attached, the statute directs dismissal and expungement.
3. Bring your money orders and receipt stubs. The presumption is real and it is in the statute.
4. Know the redemption right, and know that it runs until possession is delivered — not until the hearing. If you can pay the arrears with interest, costs, and an attorney’s fee capped at $5, and perform your other lease covenants, you can be restored to possession.
5. If you can cover the rent but not the costs, ask the court about paying those into court under § 504B.291, subd. 1(b).
6. Apply for assistance immediately. Under § 504B.321, subd. 1b, the notice itself is deemed sufficient demonstration of an emergency for county assistance purposes, and the county “must not require a tenant to provide additional verification of the emergency.”

The observation

Summary eviction procedure exists because a landlord who cannot regain possession of an income-producing property in a predictable timeframe stops renting it. The seven-to-fourteen-day appearance is the whole point of the proceeding.

But speed cuts against accuracy, and the Legislature has spent the last several sessions putting friction back in at the front and the back: a specific, itemized, statutorily worded 14-day notice, enforced by dismissal with expungement; and a redemption right that survives judgment and survives the writ and expires only when the tenant actually loses the keys.

The result is a proceeding that is fast on the merits and forgiving on the money. Landlords who treat it as a collection tool are usually disappointed. Tenants who treat the hearing date as the end of the line usually give up a right they still had.

Madgett Law, LLC represents Minnesota landlords and tenants in eviction proceedings, lease default disputes, and the collection actions that follow. If you have received a 14-day notice or an eviction summons, the window is measured in days — call before it closes. Send us a message or call 612-470-6529.

Sources: Minn. Stat. § 504B.321 (complaint and summons — subd. 1(a), contents of the complaint; subd. 1(b), effect of missing name or date of birth; subd. 1(c), appearance not less than seven nor more than 14 days from issuance of the summons; subd. 1(d), the requirement to attach the subd. 1a notice and the mandatory dismissal without prejudice and expungement; subd. 1a, the residential nonpayment notice, its six required contents, delivery personally or by first class mail to the leased premises, and the 14-day period subject to a longer local period; subd. 1b, the notice as verification of emergency for county assistance; subd. 2, expedited procedure and the required affidavit of specific facts and instances, as amended by Laws 2026, ch. 81, § 5, effective August 1, 2026 and applicable to eviction actions filed on or after that date, adding an assault ground defined by reference to Minn. Stat. § 609.02, subd. 10 and raising the abuse-of-process civil penalty to up to $750); Minn. Stat. § 504B.291 (eviction action for nonpayment; redemption; other rights — subd. 1(a), the action as equivalent to a demand for rent, the rebuttable money-order presumption and its rebuttal by business record, the redemption right exercisable at any time before possession has been delivered on payment of arrears with interest, costs, and an attorney’s fee not to exceed $5 and performance of other lease covenants, and the exception where the landlord also alleges a material lease violation under § 504B.285, subd. 5; subd. 1(b), payment into court within any stay under § 504B.345; subd. 1(c), the written-agreement requirement for partial payments); Minn. Stat. § 504B.361, subd. 1 (uniform summons and writ forms and required legal-help statement); Minn. Stat. § 504B.365 (execution of the writ — subd. 1(a), the 24-hour demand; subd. 1(c), entry where the defendant cannot be found and no person is in charge; subds. 3–5, removal and storage of property, related motions, and penalty with no waiver) (Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes). Section 504B.321, subd. 1a is written in terms of a residential tenant; commercial lease defaults are governed by the lease and by other provisions of chapter 504B, and should be analyzed separately. Local ordinances may impose longer notice periods. This article is general legal information about Minnesota law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship. No outcome is promised or implied.