1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to landlords and tenants; regulating the 
  1.3             rental housing application process; providing for a 
  1.4             civil penalty; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.5             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 504; repealing Minnesota 
  1.6             Statutes 1996, section 504.30, subdivision 5. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [504.311] [APPLICATION PROCESS; DISCLOSURES.] 
  1.9      (a) An owner as defined in section 566.18, subdivision 3, 
  1.10  prior to taking an application fee from a rental housing 
  1.11  applicant, must disclose on the application form or on a 
  1.12  separate form the following information: 
  1.13     (1) the amount of the application fee, a statement of how 
  1.14  it will be used, and whether the fee is refundable; 
  1.15     (2) the procedures the owner will use to process the 
  1.16  application and determine whether to rent to the applicant; 
  1.17     (3) the name, address, and telephone number of the tenant 
  1.18  screening service the owner will use, unless the owner does not 
  1.19  use a tenant screening service; and 
  1.20     (4) a statement that if the applicant is denied a rental 
  1.21  unit based in whole or in part on information contained in a 
  1.22  screening report, the denied applicant has the right under the 
  1.23  Fair Credit Reporting Act to receive a free copy of the report 
  1.24  from the tenant screening service. 
  1.25     (b) A signed acknowledgment of receipt of the information 
  1.26  required in this section by the prospective tenant is prima 
  2.1   facie evidence that the prospective tenant was provided the 
  2.2   information. 
  2.3      (c) An owner who fails to comply with paragraph (a) is 
  2.4   liable, to an applicant who was denied tenancy, for the 
  2.5   application fee plus a civil penalty of $150 and civil court 
  2.6   filing costs.  An owner is not liable under this paragraph if 
  2.7   the applicant made a material false statement or knowingly 
  2.8   omitted material requested information in connection with the 
  2.9   rental application. 
  2.10     (d) A rental housing applicant who makes a material false 
  2.11  statement or provides material false information in connection 
  2.12  with a rental application is liable to the owner for a civil 
  2.13  penalty of $150 and civil court filing costs, if any.  
  2.14     A tenant is not liable under this paragraph if the owner 
  2.15  did not comply with paragraph (a) or if a unit was not rented to 
  2.16  the applicant. 
  2.17     (e) This section does not apply to tenancy applications for 
  2.18  manufactured home park lot rentals regulated under chapter 327C. 
  2.19     Sec. 2.  [REPEALER.] 
  2.20     Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 504.30, subdivision 5, is 
  2.21  repealed. 
  2.22     Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.23     Section 1, paragraphs (c) and (d), are effective January 1, 
  2.24  1999.