How To Be A Great Twin Cities Housing Provider
Honestly, one of the most challenging things about buying a duplex, triplex, or fourplex is property management. And whether you’re a new owner occupying for the first time or a seasoned investor, finding resources to learn how to do things the first time, or improve them, can be a challenge.
The good news is landlord training in Minneapolis–St Paul is not only available, it is all over the place—city classes, nonprofit courses, and private workshops that will make you a better landlord.
Core City-Required Classes
Both Minneapolis and St Paul quietly expect you to know what you’re doing before you start cashing rent checks, and they back that up with formal training options. These are the first stops if you own or plan to own rentals inside city limits.
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Minneapolis Rental Property Owner Workshop – Online, on‑demand class that walks through rental license rules, tiers and fees, inspections, common code violations, and what happens if you flunk an inspection. Completing it plus a short survey can earn you a $250 discount on conversion fees for new rental licenses and even a refund on some already‑paid fees, good for several years.
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St Paul Landlord 101 Class – Designed for first‑time St Paul landlords and for existing owners who want a clearer handle on rights, responsibilities, and city expectations. It also satisfies the St Paul Fire Certificate of Occupancy rule that first‑time applicants complete an approved course, which is a big deal if you are converting a duplex or four‑plex into a legal rental.
Owner‑Occupant Specific Training
If your plan is to live in one unit and rent out the others—the classic Duplex Chick move—there are specific trainings built exactly for you. Lenders sometimes require these for 2–4 unit purchases, so they are both good education and good paperwork.
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Minnesota Homeownership Owner Occupant Training – Free, interactive course created with the Family Housing Fund to prep you for life as an owner‑occupant landlord in Minnesota. It covers big‑picture questions like “Should you even be a landlord?” along with state‑level rules and considerations that apply to small rental properties here.
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Owner-Occupant Training Hosted by MGIC (Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation) – Same core program, hosted through MGIC, with short video lessons, quizzes, and a certificate of completion at the end. Plan for about 30–45 minutes in one sitting, and double‑check with your lender that this specific course meets their landlord‑education requirement before you rely on it for underwriting.
General Landlord Skills & Legal Deep Dives
Once the city has your license fee, the real money is made in how you screen, manage, and keep yourself out of court, and there are dedicated trainings for that too. These are useful whether you own one rental property or a small portfolio scattered across the metro.
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Housinglink Landlord Trainings– Whether it’s how to screen tenants, emotional support animals, the eviction process or any number of other housing provider related issues, this site offers information about the basics of each and best practices. Best of all, their video library is available at any time online.
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Homeline– While this is a tenant advocacy group, their online resources offer a deep dive on landlord/tenant legal issues. The organization frequently offers classes like “Tips from a Tenant Attorney, Laws Every Minnesota Landlord Should Understand.” These sessions focus on the law and the disputes that actually blow up into complaints or lawsuits, including recent changes in Minnesota landlord‑tenant statutes.
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Minnesota Landlord Tenant Handbook – Always housed on the state’s attorney general’s website regardless of who that may be, this handbook is plainly written and laid out around rights for both tenants and housing providers.
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MHA (Minnesota Multi-housing Association). MHA is the state’s leading housing provider advocacy group. As such, they periodically host trainings and networking groups centered around being a landlord. These often include training classes.
How To Use These Trainings Like a Pro
Most small landlords treat education as a hoop to jump through. Others treat it as free or cheap consulting on a six‑ or seven‑figure asset. A simple strategy is: knock out the required city class first, add the owner‑occupant training before or right after you close, then layer in something like a Home Line session every year to stay on top of legal changes.