Minneapolis, MN Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)
Key Facts
- Core prohibition
- No tent/trailer used as shelter citywide
- Citation
- Minneapolis Code § 244.60
- Reporting
- Quarterly encampment-removal reports required
- Enforcement
- Director of regulatory services
- Exception
- Permit only for declared emergencies
Summary
Minneapolis prohibits camping in tents, trailers, or other temporary structures on any public or private premises, and requires the city to publish quarterly reports detailing every encampment removal, including notice timelines and shelter offers made to residents.
Unless otherwise provided in this section, no camp car, house trailer, automobile, tent or other temporary structure may be parked or placed upon any public street or on any public or private premises or street in the city and used as a shelter or enclosure of persons and their effects for the purpose of living therein.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 72).
Full Breakdown
City Code § 244.60 bars anyone from parking or placing a camp car, house trailer, tent, or other temporary structure on any public street, or on public or private property, for use as a living shelter: the citywide basis the city relies on to clear encampments. The director of regulatory services may permit temporary housing only during a declared emergency such as a natural disaster or public health crisis. A 2024 amendment added subsection (f), requiring city staff to report quarterly to the mayor and council on every encampment removal: ward location, encampment duration, service-provider contacts, shelter beds offered and accepted, arrests, and 311/911 call data by incident type.
Violations & Fines
Camping in a tent, trailer, or similar structure on public or private land without an emergency permit is a code violation; the city may remove the encampment and clear property left behind, tracked in the required quarterly removal report.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I legally camp in a Minneapolis park or on a sidewalk?
Does the city track how encampment removals are handled?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Minneapolis
Compare Minneapolis to another location·View the Minnesota homelessness & encampment rules overview
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