Thinking About Being a Landlord?
Important facts for owners of rental property in Mankato
The following information will answer most questions about owning rental property in Mankato. If you have additional questions, contact staff at any of the numbers listed for additional information.
| Important Numbers |
| Clerk's Office |
(507) 387-8626 |
| Planning and Zoning |
(507) 387-8613 |
| Rental Inspection Office |
(507) 387-8617 |
| Complaints |
(507) 387-8617 |
| Deputy Director (Fire) |
(507) 387-8703 |
The responsibilities that go along with being a landlord are governed not only by the state, but by local ordinances as well. The Minnesota Attorney General's Office publishes a handbook called "Landlords and Tenants: Rights and Responsibilities," that outlines the expectations spelled out by state statutes. The handbook is available at no cost and can be obtained by calling the Attorney General's Office at (651) 296-3353 or 1-800-657-3787 (TDD 1-800-366-4812).
In addition to the state guidelines, there are a few things you should know if you own property in Mankato. By incorporating nationally recognized building, mechanical, fire, electrical and plumbing codes, the City of Mankato has developed a Uniform Housing and Residential Maintenance Code. The purpose, first and foremost, is to provide safe, sanitary housing. Your lease with your tenant is a legally binding contract of which the City of Mankato has no part. Except for the provisions outlined in the city ordinance, the city will not get involved in breaches of your lease in any way, including evictions and non-payment of rent.
Licensing
If you are building new property to rent or converting existing housing into rental property, you will need to apply for a rental license by contacting the City Clerk. This is also necessary for property that was once rented and the owner has let the license lapse. The application, once submitted, is forwarded to Planning and Zoning to review parking and zoning requirements. If approved, the application is then assigned to a Building Official for inspection. Not until the Building Official ensures that the property is in compliance and the license is issued may the apartment(s) be rented.
Existing licenses
Existing rental property, even if you are living in part of the dwelling, needs to be inspected as well. The rental office will set up an inspection date within the year your license is to expire, and Mankato Department of Public Safety fire staff will inspect the property. If you have a conflict with the time that is assigned to you, call the Rental Office at 387-8617 to reschedule . Your license will not be renewed if there are outstanding life-safety violations.
Transfer of rental property
If you buy rental property with the intent to keep renting it, you will need to contact the City Clerk to apply to have the license transferred. An inspection may or may not be necessary. If the property has had an inspection and proven to be fully compliant within a year of application, the property will not need to be inspected.
Payment of license fees is due on or before the date of expiration of the license. In accordance with the revised ordinance, the licenses will have a term of three years, expiring on December 31. Your license cannot be renewed unless your property has had an inspection and violations have been corrected within 360 days of the expiration date.
If you are planning to own rental property in Mankato but live more than 30 miles from Mankato, you will need to enlist an agent who may act on your behalf at inspections and in emergencies. If you live outside the Mankato local calling area, you must provide your tenants and city officials with a toll-free telephone number where you can be reached.
Expired licenses
Any license that is allowed to expire for more than 30 days will be canceled. Owners of these properties lose all grandfathering rights including parking and window allowances. To have your license reinstated, you will need to apply for a new license and bring your property up to current codes. Keep your license current
Complaints
Any citizen can make a complaint about your property. All complaints are recorded and dealt with in a timely manner by either the Mankato Department of Public Safety. Complaints involving an immediate risk to life and/or safety and complaints having a significant potential of risk to life and/or safety will be investigated immediately. Nuisance complaints, on the other hand, are handled in the order they are received. The identity of all complainants is confidential. If one of your tenants makes a complaint against your property, it is illegal for you to retaliate against them. Likewise, there are penalties for tenants or anyone else making false complaints about your property.
Heating
The fixed heating systems in rental units must have the capacity to keep all habitable rooms at or above 68 degrees when the outside temperature is 20 below zero. This may be accomplished by the central furnace and/or permanent, fixed heaters. You cannot use portable space heaters or kitchen appliances to keep the units at the proper temperature. Furnaces are not to be installed in any room used as a bedroom, bathroom, or closet unless special installation requirements are met.
Utilities/Mechanic
All electrical equipment, wiring and appliances in your rental units must be installed and maintained in a safe manner in accordance with applicable laws.
All flues and vents on natural gas water heaters and furnaces must be secure to minimize the possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning. Whether your rental unit has a fuse box or a circuit breaker, the operating face of the panel must be accessible.
Ventilation, by means of a window or mechanical vent fan connected directly to the outside, must be provided in all bathrooms containing a tub and/or shower (new licenses) and in existing units with moisture problems.
Egress/Exits
While locks on doors are essential for maintaining the safety of your tenants and the security of your property, double-keyed dead bolts, operated with a key from both sides of the door, are not allowed. Also, any common exit doors, if you have multiple rental units, must be openable from the inside.
All rooms used or designated as sleeping rooms must have one primary means of egress (usually the bedroom door) and one secondary means of egress, which is usually a window, but is sometimes another door. This allows your tenants a second route to escape in case the primary route is blocked in an emergency. There are minimum standards for windows to be designated as the secondary means of egress.
New licenses
Acceptable egress windows will have a clear opening width of 20 inches, and a clear opening height of at least 24 inches, but must have a clear openable area of at least 5.7 square feet. (Please note: a window measuring 20' X 24' 3.3 square feet would be less than the required openable area.) So, if a window has an openable width of 20 inches, it would need to open to a height of 36 inches to meet the requirements. Egress windows cannot be more than 44 inches from the floor.
Existing licenses
If the egress windows in your rental unit do not meet a similar standard, you will be encouraged to remedy the situation. Until you do, your rental license will be modified to include the following:
- Windows within some or all of the sleeping area(s) of this rental unit do not comply with housing code standards for egress in case of emergency.
- If you do any remodeling of your rental unit that includes replacing windows in sleeping areas, you will be required to comply with current codes at the time of your remodeling or reconstruction project.
- If the windows in your rental property sleeping areas are so small or configured in such a manner that egress is not allowed, the inspectors have the authority to order installation of proper egress windows.
Fire Protection
All rental properties in Mankato that have an attached garage must have a one hour or equivalent fire separation between the garage and the house. If your rental property does not have a fire separation, you will be required to comply. This also applies to fire separation underneath any enclosed basement staircase when the space below the steps is enclosed and used for storage.
As a landlord, you are required to provide your tenants with a functional, multipurpose ABC fire extinguisher. This applies to all rental housing units. This can be accomplished by either placing a minimum of a "1A10BC" fire extinguisher in each individual unit, or by placing a "2A10BC" extinguisher on each floor, in common areas, no more than 50 feet from the entrance door of any apartment on that floor. It is your responsibility to ensure that these extinguishers are checked at least annually, and serviced by a professional fire extinguisher service company or replaced every six years.
All existing residential properties in Mankato, whether they are licensed as rental property or not, are required to have working smoke detectors in the following locations:
- On the ceiling or wall adjacent to each sleeping area;
- In the center of the ceiling above stairways when sleeping areas are on an upper level;
- In the basement if the stairway opens into the rental unit.
- If your property was licensed as rental property prior to August 3, 1998, you have the option of choosing battery-operated or hardwired detectors, or a combination of the two. Rental properties constructed or licensed after this date are required to have hardwired detectors with battery backup in the above locations, as well as in each sleeping room. They must also be audible from all locations within the dwelling or they must be interconnected.
Anyone who willfully disables a smoke detctor or causes it to be non-functioning is guilty of a misdemanor. If your tenants discover a non-functioning detector in your property, they are required to give you written notice within 24 hours and provide a copy of this notice to the Rental License Office. Tenants who fail to notify you are guilty of a petty misdemeanor.
Inspections
If you want to convert property into rental property, you will need to make application with the City Clerk for a rental license, and the Building Inspectors will conduct an inspection of the property.
Existing licenses
All existing rental property, including rental property being sold with the intent to continue renting the property, is inspected by the Fire Department. These inspections are scheduled through the Rental Inspection Office. You will be notified by mail approximately two weeks in advance when an inspection is scheduled for your property. If the date and time you are assigned does not fit your schedule, call the Rental Inspection Office at 387-8617 and the staff assistant will work with you to set up a more convenient inspection time.
Many landlords are surprised to see the fire engine arrive at their property for the inspection. This is necessary because the firefighters need to be ready to respond to an emergency at all times even during your inspection. If you arrive for your inspection and the firefighters fail to meet you, it is most likely because they were paged to an emergency call. If this happens, the rental office will set up a new appointment.
Rental inspections usually take approximately an hour for a large house or duplex, two hours for a four-plex and so on. It is your responsibility to notify your tenants in advance of the inspection date and time. It is appreciated if your tenants have all pets leashed or caged during the inspection.
At the completion of your inspection, you will receive a copy of the inspection form, with all violations, if any, listed. The inspectors will also call the Rental Inspection Office while they are at your property to schedule a reinspection if necessary. They will give you a reasonable amount of time to correct whatever violations your property has. The date and time of the reinspection will be noted at the bottom of the form you receive. It is imperative for the firefighters' schedule and vital for the renewal of your license that you or your agent meet the inspectors at your scheduled inspection and reinspection appointments.
Penalties
Firefighters will make a reasonable attempt to work with you to give you ample time to clear up violations. Obviously, life safety items will require immediate compliance while bigger projects will require a longer time frame. The firefighters do have the authority to issue citations for non-compliance with orders and for not making your scheduled appointments. However, much more can be accomplished through a good, mutual working relationship. If you disagree with an order or an interpretation of the housing code, an appeals process is in effect. The firefighters will provide you with the details of the appeals process.
Off-Street Parking
All rental property licensed after August 3, 1998 needs to provide off-street parking. The number of parking stalls for one- and two-family rentals is based on the square footage of the sleeping rooms, with a minimum of two parking stalls for a one-family dwelling and a minimum of four parking stalls for a two-family dwelling. At least two parking stalls are needed for each unit of a multiple-family dwelling. All rental property licensed prior to this date will also need to comply with these requirements if it has sufficient yard area.
Responsibilities
Although your tenants may have an obligation to help keep your rental property in compliance, you, as the owner, remain liable for any violations. It is ultimately your responsibility to ensure safe and sanitary living conditions within your rental property. This includes your own part of the rental property if you live in part of the dwelling, as well as public/shared areas in buildings with two or more units. You are also responsible for the prevention of insect and rodent infestation, as well as any necessary extermination.
Conduct on Rental Property
The landlord is held responsible for the conduct of their tenants. Landlords are notified of complaints of loud parties or disorderly conduct that result in police action. Landlords are expected to deal with their tenants when these events occur. Subsequent problems are dealt with in problem solving conferences and may result in the rental license being suspended.