Is There Rent Control in Minneapolis? No — And Here’s Why Investors Keep Getting It Wrong

If I had $1 for every person who told me there is an active rent control policy in Minneapolis, I wouldn’t be rich. I could, however, buy a week’s worth of groceries.

Since there are still so many misconceptions, it may be a good time to revisit it.

Rent control in Minneapolis has never been enacted. Mayor Frey has actively blocked it and continues to veto tenant protection expansions. Meanwhile, the St. Paul comparison shows what happens when rent control does pass and how quickly it gets walked back.

Here’s a brief history of efforts to implement rent control in Minneapolis.

• 2021 – Minneapolis voters approved a charter amendment (53–47%) giving the City Council the authority (think permission) to draft a rent control ordinance if they ever wanted to. If they did, it would have to be put on the ballot. Citizens would need to vote in the majority to enact it.
• 2022 – A Rent Stabilization Work Group of 25 stakeholders — landlords, tenants, advocates — met for three months. The majority framework supported a 3% cap. Mayor Frey publicly pledged to veto it. It stalled.
• June 2023 – A council vote to advance a 3% cap ordinance to committee failed 5–4 in a procedurally controversial maneuver, preventing a ballot proposal. The question never reached voters.
• May 2023 – The Council voted 7–5 to direct the city attorney to draft a 3% cap ordinance. Mayor Frey istated he would veto the proposal.
• Mar 2026 – The Council passed a temporary 60-day pre-eviction notice extension during ICE crackdown crisis. Mayor Frey vetoed it. The Council failed to get the 9 votes needed to override the veto.
• Apr 2026 – Council passed a softer 45-day extension. Mayor Frey vetoed that too, keeping the current 30-day requirement in place.

In other words, every significant attempt to pass aggressive rent control in Minneapolis has either been blocked, killed procedurally, or vetoed by a mayor who explicitly cites the negative effects on housing supply and landlord economics.

Meanwhile, over in St Paul…

Thank you for the example, St. Paul

St Paul oters passed a 3% annual rent cap in November 2021. At the time, it was one of the strictest rent control ordinances in the country New construction apartment developers often secure financing by projecting aggressive rent increases as the project fills and stabilizes. When the size of those increases was capped, building permits fell approximately 79% in the first year.

As a result, the city has watered much of the ordinance down. walked almost all of it back. By 2022, the council had voted to: exempt new construction on a rolling 20-year basis, allow vacancy decontrol, and let landlords raise rents up to 8% with city approval. Within two more years, the system had evolved to allow annual increases up to 8% under some conditions. Most landlord who submitted petitions for higher increases based on return-on-investment claims were approved. Today, roughly one-third of St. Paul rental units are exempt from rent control entirely.

So what’s actually on the books in Minneapolis?

• There’s no rent control or rent stabilization ordinance.
• There is, however, a 30-day pre-eviction notice for nonpayment (vs. 14-day state baseline).
• Rent increases greater than 10% require a 60-day notice.
• Increases for less than 10% require at least a 30-day notice. ·
• Security deposits are capped at one month’s rent. The landlord must provide an option to pay them over three months. ·
• As of March 1, 2025, housing providers have disclosure reuirements.
• Tenants are allowed to form associations. The landlord may not retaliate if they choose to do so.
• Rental disclosure requirements effective March 1, 2025 (property info, license tier, open violations).
• Late fees are limited; “junk fee” restrictions on certain service charges.

That’s it. Really. Absolutely none of it is so bad as to make Minneapolis a bad investment.

Somebody should get the word out.