Does A Minneapolis Duplex Need A Kitchen?

The other day I showed a buyer a south Minneapolis property with a studio apartment in the basement. The buyer and I were both surprised to see the only kitchen appliance in the unit was a hot plate.

I’ve seen this a time or two before. In both instances, the prospective sellers told me upfront the unit was non-conforming. Of course, my brain inferred that meant a kitchen was required.

Of course, this time it bothered me enough to look it up. Minnesota landlord tenant law is a difficult thing to search and find quick answers. I resorted to a list from ipropertymanagement.com instead.

Turns out a Minnesota housing provider is not required to provide any kitchen appliances whatsoever! That isn’t the only thing. Landlords aren’t mandated to provide window coverings, landscaping, nor laundry facilities either.

They are, however, required to provide hot water, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, working plumbing and of course, heat.

Required and best practices aren’t always the same thing. And personally, I would think a duplex, triplex or apartment unit that has a kitchen and light fixtures would be imminently more attractive to a tenant than one without.