Minnesota Eviction Notice
Minnesota eviction notice: the 14-day pay-or-vacate notice for nonpayment under Section 504B.321. Free template, statute cites. Attorney review available.
Introduction
An eviction notice is a written notice a landlord serves on a tenant to begin ending a tenancy for cause, before filing an eviction action in court. Minnesota's rule is distinctive: a mandatory 14-day pre-filing notice applies only to nonpayment of rent or another unpaid financial obligation under the lease, stating the exact amount due; Minnesota has no general statewide statutory cure-or-quit notice for other lease violations, so an eviction for those can proceed once the tenant is holding over contrary to the lease's terms. If a local government ordinance requires a longer notice period for nonpayment, that longer period controls. To end a tenancy at will (no fixed lease term), a written notice to quit is required instead, timed to at least the interval between rent due dates or 3 months, whichever is less. This page provides the actual notice document a landlord fills out and serves, matched to whichever of these three situations applies, not a general guide to how Minnesota eviction law works. Both of those rules, the mandatory 14-day nonpayment notice and the absence of a general cure-or-quit requirement for other violations, come from the same law: Minnesota Statutes Chapter 504B, which governs the entire pre-filing notice process and the court case that follows. For the nonpayment notice specifically, the law requires exact content: the total amount due, an itemized accounting, the payee's name and address, and specific statements about legal help and rental assistance. The Minnesota Judicial Branch publishes an optional form, HOU121, for this notice. Skip the notice, misstate the amount, or leave out required content, and the court must dismiss the eviction case without prejudice.
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Key Things to Know
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An eviction notice is a written notice a landlord must serve on a tenant to begin ending a tenancy for cause, before filing an eviction action in court.
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Minnesota's most distinctive rule: a mandatory 14-day pre-filing notice applies only to nonpayment of rent (or another unpaid financial obligation under the lease), stating the total amount due, and Minnesota has no general statewide "cure or quit" notice required for other lease violations. If the tenant pays or vacates within 14 days of delivery or mailing, no eviction action follows for nonpayment; a longer local-government notice period controls if one applies. (Minn. Stat. Section 504B.321, Subdivision 1a)
- 3
For a lease violation other than nonpayment, an eviction for holding over in violation of the lease's other conditions or covenants can proceed without a separate statutory pre-filing cure notice, though the lease itself may require one. (Minn. Stat. Section 504B.285, Subdivision 1(a)(2))
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To end a tenancy at will (a tenancy with no fixed term), the landlord or tenant must give a written notice to quit at least as long as the interval between rent due dates, or 3 months, whichever is less. (Minn. Stat. Section 504B.135)
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The governing law is Minnesota Statutes Chapter 504B, "Landlord and Tenant," which sets the notice rules and the eviction-action process that follows if the tenant doesn't comply.
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The nonpayment notice must be delivered personally or sent by first-class mail to the tenant at the leased premises. (Minn. Stat. Section 504B.321, Subdivision 1a(b))
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There's no state-mandated form for a lease-violation or tenancy-at-will notice, but the Minnesota Judicial Branch publishes an optional form, HOU121 ("Written Notice of Possible Future Eviction Action"), for the nonpayment notice, and specific wording is legally required: amount due, itemized accounting, payee name and address, and required statements about legal help and rental assistance, or the notice does not satisfy the statute.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Eviction Notice in Minnesota, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Eviction Notice guide walks through them.
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Minnesota Requirements for Eviction Notice
No-Cause Termination Notice for Tenancy at Will (Minnesota Statutes Section 504B.135)
A tenancy at will may be terminated by either party by giving written notice. The notice period must be at least as long as the interval between the time rent is due, or three months, whichever is less. This is Minnesota's no-cause termination mechanism for a tenancy with no fixed lease term.
Notice Period for Nonpayment of Rent (Minnesota Statutes Section 504B.321, Subdivision 1a)
14-day written notice required before a landlord may bring an eviction action for nonpayment of rent or another unpaid financial obligation under the lease. The notice must state the total amount due. If the tenant fails to correct the delinquency or vacate within 14 days of delivery or mailing (or a longer period if required by local government rule or law), the landlord may then bring the eviction action. A copy of the notice must be attached to the complaint, or the court must dismiss the action without prejudice.
Service of the Pre-Filing Notice (Minnesota Statutes Section 504B.321, Subdivision 1a(b))
The landlord or an agent of the landlord must deliver the nonpayment notice personally or by first class mail to the residential tenant at the address of the leased premises. This differs from the summons and complaint that follow if a case is filed, which are served under a separate rule (Minnesota Statutes Section 504B.332, current since 2024) with its own personal, substitute, and mail-and-posting steps.
Governing Landlord-Tenant Eviction Statute (Minnesota Statutes Chapter 504B)
The statutory basis for every notice type and eviction ground on this page: Minnesota Statutes Chapter 504B, "Landlord and Tenant," which sets the pre-filing notice rules, the eviction-action complaint and summons process, and the court procedure that follows if the tenant does not comply.
No Statutory Cure Period for Lease Violations (Minnesota Statutes Section 504B.285)
Minnesota does not require a separate statewide pre-filing cure notice for a lease violation other than nonpayment. An eviction may proceed on the ground that the tenant is holding over real property contrary to the conditions or covenants of the lease, without a state-mandated cure period, though the lease itself may require one. A narrower court-administered grace period applies only when a landlord combines a nonpayment claim with an unproven lease-violation claim: the tenant then gets up to 7 additional days to pay the rent the court finds due.
Prescribed Notice Form and Required Content (Minnesota Statutes Section 504B.321, Subdivision 1a; Form HOU121)
No form is legally mandatory, but the nonpayment notice's content is: the total amount due; an itemized accounting of rent, late fees, and other charges; the name and address of the person authorized to receive rent and fees; a required statement about the right to seek legal help; a required statement about applying for financial assistance; and a required statement that the landlord can file if the tenant does not pay or move out within 14 days. The Minnesota Judicial Branch publishes an optional statewide form, HOU121, "Written Notice of Possible Future Eviction Action," that uses this exact statutory wording.
Tenant's Right to Redeem After Nonpayment Eviction Filed (Minnesota Statutes Section 504B.291)
In most nonpayment eviction actions (unless the landlord has also alleged an unproven lease violation), the tenant may redeem the tenancy and be restored to possession at any time before possession has been delivered, by paying the landlord, or bringing to court, the rent in arrears plus interest, costs of the action, and an attorney's fee not to exceed $5, and by performing the other lease covenants.