1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to landlord tenant; modifying provisions 
  1.3             relating to the manner in which the landlord must hold 
  1.4             a tenant's personal property left on the premises 
  1.5             after abandonment or eviction; amending Minnesota 
  1.6             Statutes 1996, section 566.17, subdivision 2. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 566.17, 
  1.9   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 2.  [REMOVAL AND STORAGE OF PROPERTY.] (a) In cases 
  1.11  where the defendant's personal property is to be stored in a 
  1.12  place other than the premises, the officer shall remove all 
  1.13  property of the defendant at the expense of the plaintiff.  
  1.14     The plaintiff shall have a lien upon all of the goods upon 
  1.15  the premises for the reasonable costs and expenses incurred for 
  1.16  removing the personal property and for the proper caring and 
  1.17  storing the same, and the costs of transportation of the same to 
  1.18  some suitable place of storage, in case defendant shall fail or 
  1.19  refuse to make immediate payment for all the expenses of such 
  1.20  removal from the premises and plaintiff shall have the right to 
  1.21  enforce such lien by detaining the same until paid, and, in case 
  1.22  of nonpayment for 60 days after the execution of the writ, shall 
  1.23  have the right to enforce the lien and foreclose the same by 
  1.24  public sale as provided for in case of sales under sections 
  1.25  514.18 to 514.22. 
  1.26     (b) In cases where the defendant's property is to be stored 
  2.1   on the premises, the officer shall enter the premises, breaking 
  2.2   in if necessary, and the plaintiff may remove the defendant's 
  2.3   personal property.  The provisions of section 504.24 apply to 
  2.4   property removed under this paragraph.  The plaintiff must 
  2.5   prepare an inventory and mail a copy of the inventory to the 
  2.6   defendant's last known address or, if the defendant has provided 
  2.7   a different address, to the address provided by the defendant.  
  2.8   The inventory must be prepared, signed, and dated in the 
  2.9   presence of the peace officer.  The inventory must include the 
  2.10  following: 
  2.11     (1) a listing of the items of personal property and a 
  2.12  description of the condition of the property; 
  2.13     (2) the date, the signature of the plaintiff or the 
  2.14  plaintiff's agent, and the name and telephone number of a person 
  2.15  authorized to release the personal property; and 
  2.16     (3) the name and badge number of the peace officer. 
  2.17     The peace officer shall retain a copy of the inventory.  
  2.18  The plaintiff is responsible for the proper removal, storage, 
  2.19  and care of the defendant's personal property and is liable for 
  2.20  damages for loss of or injury to the defendant's personal 
  2.21  property caused by the plaintiff's failure to exercise care in 
  2.22  regard to it as a reasonably careful person would exercise under 
  2.23  like circumstances. 
  2.24     The plaintiff shall notify the defendant of the date and 
  2.25  approximate time the officer is scheduled to remove the 
  2.26  defendant, family, and the defendant's personal property from 
  2.27  the premises.  The notice must be sent by first-class mail.  In 
  2.28  addition, the plaintiff must make a good faith effort to notify 
  2.29  the defendant by telephone.  The notice must be mailed as soon 
  2.30  as the information regarding the date and approximate time the 
  2.31  officer is scheduled to enforce the writ is known to the 
  2.32  plaintiff, except that the scheduling of the peace officer to 
  2.33  enforce the writ need not be delayed because of the notice 
  2.34  requirement.  The notice must inform the defendant that the 
  2.35  defendant and the defendant's property will be removed from the 
  2.36  premises if the defendant has not vacated the premises by the 
  3.1   time specified in the notice. 
  3.2      (c) If the writ of restitution is based on an unlawful 
  3.3   detainer action under section 504.181, or on the basis that the 
  3.4   tenant is causing a nuisance or seriously endangers the safety 
  3.5   of other residents, their property, or the landlord's property, 
  3.6   and if the defendant does not remove the defendant's property 
  3.7   from the premises by the time specified in the writ, the 
  3.8   plaintiff may have the defendant's property removed by the means 
  3.9   identified in paragraph (a) or (b), but the plaintiff has no 
  3.10  obligation to store the defendant's property.  The plaintiff may 
  3.11  immediately dispose of the property by whatever means convenient 
  3.12  to the plaintiff, except that if the plaintiff sells the 
  3.13  property, the plaintiff shall remit to the defendant, if found 
  3.14  within ... months of the sale, the proceeds of the sale, less 
  3.15  costs incurred in removing, storing, and selling the property.