Skip to content
Oakclause

Tenant Abandoned Property Laws in Minnesota

In Minnesota, a landlord must store property left in an abandoned unit and may sell or dispose of it 28 days after learning of the abandonment, after making reasonable efforts to give the tenant at least 14 days' written notice of a sale.

Last checked . General information, not legal advice.

Minnesota at a glance

Written notice required
Yes, 14 days before a sale
By personal service or first class and certified mail, plus posting on the premises.
Holding period
28 days
Counted from the landlord's actual notice of abandonment or when abandonment reasonably appears, whichever is later.
After the holding period
Sell or otherwise dispose of it
Landlord may apply proceeds to removal, storage and allowed claims; any remaining proceeds go to the tenant on written demand.

Sources

Last checked

The rules in Minnesota

Does a landlord in Minnesota have to notify the tenant before disposing of left-behind property?

Yes, 14 days before a sale. Written notice required in Minnesota: yes, 14 days before a sale. By personal service or first class and certified mail, plus posting on the premises.

How long must a landlord in Minnesota keep a tenant's abandoned property?

Holding period in Minnesota: 28 days. Counted from the landlord's actual notice of abandonment or when abandonment reasonably appears, whichever is later.

What can a landlord in Minnesota do with abandoned property after the waiting period?

After the holding period in Minnesota: Sell or otherwise dispose of it. Landlord may apply proceeds to removal, storage and allowed claims; any remaining proceeds go to the tenant on written demand.

Where do the Minnesota tenant abandoned property laws come from?

The rules above come from Minn. Stat. 504B.271 and Minn. Stat. 504B.365. Each source is linked on this page. We last checked them in October 2026.

Good to know

After an eviction, property stored off the premises may be sold at a public lien sale if storage costs are not paid within 60 days.

What this means in practice

Before treating anything as abandoned, confirm that the tenancy has actually ended. Some statutes define when a unit counts as abandoned, and removing property while a tenant still has a right to possession can expose a landlord to claims for wrongful eviction or conversion.

Keep a written record. Photos or a video of the items, a dated inventory, a copy of any notice sent and proof of how it was delivered make it much easier to show that the required steps were followed if the former tenant later asks for the property or its value.

Store items safely and in a reasonable way during any holding period. Where a statute allows the landlord to charge reasonable moving and storage costs, or to keep sale proceeds to cover those costs, the rules on what may be charged and what happens to any surplus vary, so check the exact text for your state.

General information, not legal advice. Laws change, and cities can add their own rules, so check the current statute before you rely on it.