Leaving A Lease Early
Minn. Stat. 504B.206 — a tenant who fears imminent violence may end the lease on written notice
Without penalty or liability. A Minnesota tenant may end a residential lease without penalty or liability if the tenant or another authorized occupant fears imminent violence after being subjected to domestic abuse, criminal sexual conduct, sexual extortion or harassment.
The tenant gives the landlord signed, dated advance written notice, by mail, in person or by the way the tenant usually writes to the landlord, stating the fear of imminent violence, that the tenancy needs to end, the date it ends, and instructions for any property left, along with a qualifying document. The landlord may ask the perpetrator's name, and the tenant may decline for safety.
A sole tenant owes rent for the full month in which the tenancy ends, gives up claims to the security deposit, and owes nothing more for the rest of the term. Where there are other tenants, the lease ends for all of them at the later of the end of that month or rent interval, and they may apply for a new lease.
The landlord may not disclose the notice, the document, the new address or the tenant's status as a victim. A landlord may not bring an eviction solely because the tenant was a victim of those acts, or against a tenant who ended the lease this way.
Sources for this section (2)
- Minn. Stat. 504B.206 — Right of victims of violence to terminate lease
- Minn. Stat. 504B.285 — Eviction actions; grounds; retaliation defense
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Minnesota attorney.