Minneapolis Encourages Duplex Tenants To Get Married

Sometimes government rules and regulations just don’t make sense.

Take, for example, the city of Minneapolis’ rule on the number of unrelated people who can occupy a rental unit.

If a property has a zoning designation of R 1-3 (residential 1- 3 units), a maximum of three unrelated people can live in each of the units.

The number of bedrooms or amount of square footage in each is irrelevant. In other words, if you own a duplex with a five bedroom unit, you can only have three unrelated people living in it.

If the multi-family property is zoned R 4-6, however, you can have up to five unrelated people in each unit; even if there’s only one bedroom in each apartment.

Of course, if the other people occupying a unit are related by blood, marriage, or adoption, an R 1-3 property can house the family plus two unrelated people.

In a R 4-6 zoned multi-family building, a family can have up to four unrelated people living with them; again, regardless of the number of bedrooms in the apartment.

What happens if the city discovers there are more residents than allowed in a duplex? The landlord can lose his rental license.

So if you have a Minneapolis duplex, say, by the U of M or in Uptown with a couple of four bedroom units, how can you make sure you’re in compliance?

Get your tenants to marry or adopt each other.