St. Paul Extends Pre-Eviction Notice to 60 Days: What Landlords and Renters Need to Know Before May 14

St Paul Mayor Kaohly Her

The St. Paul City Council recently voted 7-0 to extend the pre-eviction notice period from 30 days to 60 days, effective May 14th through the end of 2026.

Mayor Kaohly Her vetoed the measure. However, the council passed it with a veto-proof margin and the city charter’s “pocket approval” rule means it becomes law with or without

The council’s stated rationale is that many families experienced economic hardship as a result of Operation Metro Surge, and the extended notice period is meant to give residents critical breathing room to access rental assistance.

Many breadwinners in immigrant households stopped going to work out of fear — some were detained, some were deported, and others just couldn’t leave the house. Rent stopped getting paid. Tenant advocacy groups say families’ needs are immediate, and that the ordinance ensures people who have a means to make money but felt forced to stay home can remain housed.

Like Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who also vetoed a similar measure, Her said she’s concerned it will cause tenants to accrue more debt, ultimately digging a hole even more difficult to get out of.

Both mayors prefer to focus efforts on rental assistance.

Tenant advocates counter that the amount of debt people accumulate doesn’t change how difficult it is to find housing after being evicted. The goal is to give tenants time to access money they need, pay what they owe, and stay housed.

According to the St. Paul city charter, the council has the power of “pocket approval” — which means if a mayor neither approves nor denies an ordinance within five business days, it becomes law. The mayor informed the council she won’t sign. The council passed it 7-0.

The 60-day pre-eviction filing notice goes into effect on May 14, 2026, and after December 31st, it will automatically return to its previous 14-day notice period.

It does not relieve renters of their financial obligations — it simply extends the window before a landlord can file a case in eviction court.

If you own a duplex, a fourplex, or a small rental portfolio in St. Paul, here’s what changes on May 14th:

Your current pre-eviction notice window is 14 days. Starting May 14th, that jumps to 60 days before you can even file in eviction court. That’s a significant shift. If you have a tenant who stops paying in May, you’re looking at mid-July before you can get to the courthouse — and then the actual court process on top of that.

Best practices? If a tenant is already behind, have those conversations with them early. Document everything. Look into whether your tenants might qualify for rental assistance programs the city and county may be funding.

Getting a tenant connected to assistance money is genuinely better for everyone than a months-long eviction process.