Minnesota Allows Local Rent Control Only by General-Election Referendum

Under Minn. Stat. § 471.9996, "no statutory or home rule charter city, county, or town may adopt or renew by ordinance or otherwise any law to control rents on private residential property except as provided in subdivision 2." Subdivision 2 permits such a measure only when "the ordinance, charter amendment, or law that controls rents is approved in a general election," making a voter referendum the sole route to local rent control. Minnesota imposes no statewide percentage limit on rent increases. In November 2021, St. Paul voters approved a rent stabilization ordinance capping most annual increases at 3% (effective January 1, 2023), and Minneapolis voters approved a charter amendment authorizing the city to regulate rents.

There is no statewide fine for raising rent. A locally enacted ordinance adopted by referendum under Minn. Stat. § 471.9996 sets its own enforcement: St. Paul's rent stabilization ordinance, for example, lets tenants challenge increases above the 3% cap, and a landlord who exceeds an approved cap may be ordered to roll back the rent and may face penalties under the local ordinance.