HF 3614

as introduced - 82nd Legislature (2001 - 2002) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to landlords and tenants; providing for 
  1.3             residential tenant reports; increasing a penalty; 
  1.4             amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 504B.173, 
  1.5             subdivision 4; 504B.245; proposing coding for new law 
  1.6             in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 504B. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 504B.173, 
  1.9   subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 4.  [REMEDIES.] In addition to any other remedies, a 
  1.11  landlord who violates this section is liable to the applicant 
  1.12  for the application fee plus a civil penalty of up to $100 $500, 
  1.13  civil court filing costs, and reasonable attorney fees incurred 
  1.14  to enforce this remedy. 
  1.15     Sec. 2.  [504B.240] [RESIDENTIAL TENANT REPORTS; 
  1.16  PORTABILITY.] 
  1.17     Subdivision 1.  [CONTENT.] Every residential tenant 
  1.18  screening service doing business in this state must offer a 
  1.19  residential tenant report product that contains at least the 
  1.20  following information, if applicable, on a prospective tenant: 
  1.21     (1) verification of the employment of the prospective 
  1.22  tenant from the two most recent employers including wage levels, 
  1.23  length of employment, and whether the employment is full-time or 
  1.24  part-time; 
  1.25     (2) verification of other sources of income reported by the 
  1.26  prospective tenant; 
  2.1      (3) references from the prospective tenant's two most 
  2.2   recent landlords, including length of occupancy, rent amount, 
  2.3   and payment history; 
  2.4      (4) information on eviction actions against the prospective 
  2.5   tenant, pursuant to section 504B.241; 
  2.6      (5) a consumer credit report from a consumer reporting 
  2.7   agency that compiles and maintains files of consumers on a 
  2.8   nationwide basis; and 
  2.9      (6) public data on criminal convictions; for prospective 
  2.10  tenants living outside the seven-county metropolitan area, a 
  2.11  search must be conducted in the county in which the prospective 
  2.12  tenant lives and two adjacent counties, and for prospective 
  2.13  tenants living in the seven-county metropolitan area, a search 
  2.14  must be conducted in the seven counties in the metropolitan area.
  2.15     The residential tenant report under this subdivision must 
  2.16  contain a seal on each page or other mechanism that ensures 
  2.17  authenticity of the document. 
  2.18     Subd. 2.  [FEE.] The fee for the residential tenant report 
  2.19  described in subdivision 1 may not exceed $45.  
  2.20     Subd. 3.  [PROVISION OF REPORT TO TENANT.] A landlord 
  2.21  receiving a residential tenant report containing at least the 
  2.22  information described in subdivision 1 shall provide the 
  2.23  prospective tenant with the report. 
  2.24     Subd. 4.  [OTHER CONDITIONS.] A landlord may not require a 
  2.25  prospective tenant to pay for a residential tenant report if the 
  2.26  prospective tenant provides the landlord with a residential 
  2.27  tenant report that contains at least the information described 
  2.28  in subdivision 1 that has been issued in the last 30 days.  
  2.29     A landlord is not prohibited from obtaining another 
  2.30  residential tenant report or from conducting a personal 
  2.31  reference check on the prospective tenant at the landlord's 
  2.32  expense. 
  2.33     If a prospective tenant does not have a residential tenant 
  2.34  report containing at least the information described in 
  2.35  subdivision 1 that has been issued in the last 30 days, section 
  2.36  504B.173 applies. 
  3.1      Subd. 5.  [OTHER INFORMATION.] Nothing in this section 
  3.2   prohibits a residential tenant screening service from offering 
  3.3   other residential tenant report products that contain different 
  3.4   information than the information required under this section. 
  3.5      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 504B.245, is 
  3.6   amended to read: 
  3.7      504B.245 [TENANT REPORT; REMEDIES.] 
  3.8      The remedies provided in section 8.31 apply to a violation 
  3.9   of section sections 504B.240 and 504B.241.  A residential tenant 
  3.10  screening service or landlord in compliance with the provisions 
  3.11  of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, United States Code, title 15, 
  3.12  section 1681, et seq., is considered to be in compliance 
  3.13  with section sections 504B.240 and 504B.241.