MINNEAPOLIS — More protections were afforded to renters in Minneapolis Monday, thanks, in part, to the work of hundreds of University of Minnesota students who found themselves temporarily displaced on the cusp of their current school year.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey signed the ordinance into law Monday morning, in an effort to protect the rights of renters who sign pre-leases. The policy was inspired by more than 500 students who signed pre-lease agreements at Identity Dinkytown, a new apartment building that had not been completed as promised by the time students were ready to move in for the fall semester.
A statement released by the city said some of those students were displaced for over a month, while some of them went without their guaranteed accommodations for "nearly the entire semester." As a result, a group of students filed a lawsuit against the several-story, multi-use apartment, alleging they paid their landlord the required first month's rent and were told afterward that their unit would not be ready, a move they said left them stuck in their leases with few options.
But in court filings, the building's parent company, CA Student Living Dinkytown, claimed "none of the Plaintiffs paid rent on Aug. 1, 2023, nor have they ever made a rent payment." At the time, a representative told KARE 11 that the landlord also offered students the choice to either provide their own accommodations and receive a $150 gift card per day until they were able to move in, or alternatively, Identity landlords would house students in hotels and give them $80 in gift cards per day until move in.
Updated filings show the lawsuit has since been settled, and both parties agreed to its dismissal.
“This ordinance makes a whole lot of sense, because it’s fair.” said Frey, in a statement. “We’ve got students who need to be able to move into their apartments on time and be able to attend classes. If you can’t do that, it’s not fair to anybody, and this ordinance helps correct that."
Ward 2 City Council Member Robin Wonsley said she worked directly with the students and their families to find a solution to protect renters rights.
“Residents reached out to my office asking us to use our full authority to ensure the situation at Identity Dinkytown never happens again, and my office worked quickly to do just that,” Wonsley said in a statement, adding, "This is just the first of many policies we hope to pass with this coalition to protect renters and workers.”
Under the new ordinance, renters who sign a pre-lease but are unable to move into their space by the start of the lease will have the choice of one of three offers by their new landlord:
- Alternative housing until their unit is ready;
- Rent reimbursement until their unit is ready;
- The option to exit the lease with all of the fees and deposits refunded.
“Students should be able to focus on their academics and their mental wellbeing while on campus, and this was a major setback to that,” said Katie Smithberg, government and legislative affairs coordinator of the Undergraduate Student Government. "It took the courage of many students to speak out against the unfair practices that its management used for a change to be made.”
The city said the ordinance took effect immediately after Frey's signing.
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.
Watch more Breaking The News:
Watch all of the latest stories from Breaking The News in our YouTube playlist: