It’s January of the new year. And if you’re a Minnesota housing provider that means one thing: Certificates for Rents Paid (CRPs) are due by the 31st.
If you owned or managed rental property in Minnesota in 2023, the state requires that you issue CRPs to tenants if either property tax was payable on the property in 2023 or property tax wasn’t required but you made payments in lieu of it.
The CRP must include the amount of rent paid by the tenant, including any payments made by the state, county or medical assistance. It must also include payments for garage spaces included in the rental agreement, storage lockers, pet rent or utilities paid to the landlord not the utility company itself.
It doesn’t include late fees, emergency rental assistance, rent incentives, or garage spaces not a part of a rental agreement.
Each adult renter in a unit is entitled to a CRP reflecting each paid an equal amount of the rent; even if that was not actually the case. If a tenant moved out, the CRP for the unit must show they paid equally until the date they left.
If you bought or sold a rental property during the year, you should issue CRPs for the time of your ownership.
The CRP form allows for a reduction of rent in exchange for services like maintenance, mowing, snow removal, etc. This too needs to be split among all the adults in the unit.
Ironically, you must issue a CRP for the entire amount of the rent; even if the tenant is behind in paying it!
Remember, there is a $100 penalty for each CRP a housing provider fails to issue.
You may download the 2023 CRP form HERE.