1998 Minnesota Statutes

     504A.415 Execution of the order to vacate. 

    Subdivision 1.    General.  (a) The officer who holds 
 the order to vacate shall execute it by demanding that the 
 renter, if found in the county, any adult member of the renter's 
 family who is occupying the property, or any other person in 
 charge, to leave, taking family and all personal property from 
 the property within 24 hours.  

    (b) If the renter fails to comply with the demand, then the 
 officer shall bring, if necessary, the force of the county and 
 any necessary assistance, at the cost of the landlord.  The 
 officer shall remove the renter, family, and all personal 
 property from the property and place the landlord in possession. 

    (c) If the renter cannot be found in the county, and there 
 is no person in charge of the property, then the officer shall 
 enter the property, breaking in if necessary, and remove and 
 store the personal property of the renter at a place designated 
 by the landlord as provided in subdivision 3. 

    (d) The order may also be executed by a licensed police 
 officer or community crime prevention licensed police officer.  

    Subd. 2.    Priority; execution of priority order.  An 
 officer shall give priority to the execution, under this 
 section, of any order to vacate that is based on an eviction 
 action under section 504A.701, or on the basis that the renter 
 is causing a nuisance or seriously endangers the safety of other 
 residents, their property, or the landlord's property.  

    Subd. 3.    Removal and storage of property.  (a) If the 
 renter's personal property is to be stored in a place other than 
 the property, the officer shall remove all personal property of 
 the renter at the expense of the landlord.  

    (b) The renter must make immediate payment for all expenses 
 of removing personal property from the property.  If the renter 
 fails or refuses to do so, the landlord has a lien on all the 
 personal property for the reasonable costs and expenses incurred 
 in removing, caring for, storing, and transporting it to a 
 suitable storage place. 

    (c) The landlord may enforce the lien by detaining the 
 personal property until paid.  If no payment has been made for 
 60 days after the execution of the order to vacate, the landlord 
 may hold a public sale as provided in sections 514.18 to 514.22. 

    (d) If the renter's personal property is to be stored on 
 the property, the officer shall enter the property, breaking in 
 if necessary, and the landlord may remove the renter's personal 
 property.  Section 504A.245 applies to personal property removed 
 under this paragraph.  The landlord must prepare an inventory 
 and mail a copy of the inventory to the renter's last known 
 address or, if the renter has provided a different address, to 
 the address provided.  The inventory must be prepared, signed, 
 and dated in the presence of the officer and must include the 
 following: 

    (1) a list of the items of personal property and a 
 description of its condition; 

    (2) the date, the signature of the renter or the renter's 
 agent, and the name and telephone number of a person authorized 
 to release the personal property; and 

    (3) the name and badge number of the officer. 

    (e) The officer must retain a copy of the inventory.  

    (f) The landlord is responsible for the proper removal, 
 storage, and care of the renter's personal property and is 
 liable for damages for loss of or injury to it caused by the 
 landlord's failure to exercise the same care that a reasonably 
 careful person would exercise under similar circumstances. 

    (g) The landlord shall notify the renter of the date and 
 approximate time the officer is scheduled to remove the renter, 
 family, and personal property from the property.  The notice 
 must be sent by first-class mail.  In addition, the landlord 
 must make a good faith effort to notify the renter by 
 telephone.  The notice must be mailed as soon as the information 
 regarding the date and approximate time the officer is scheduled 
 to enforce the order is known to the landlord, except that the 
 scheduling of the officer to enforce the order need not be 
 delayed because of the notice requirement.  The notice must 
 inform the renter that the renter and the renter's personal 
 property will be removed from the property if the renter has not 
 vacated the property by the time specified in the notice.  

    Subd. 4.    Second and fourth judicial districts.  In 
 the second and fourth judicial districts, the housing calendar 
 consolidation project shall retain jurisdiction in matters 
 relating to removal of personal property under this section.  If 
 the landlord refuses to return the property after proper demand 
 is made as provided in section 504A.245, the court shall enter 
 an order requiring the landlord to return the property to the 
 renter and awarding reasonable expenses including attorney fees 
 to the renter.  

    Subd. 5.    Penalty; waiver not allowed.  Unless the 
 property has been abandoned, a landlord, an agent, or other 
 person acting under the landlord's direction or control who 
 enters the property and removes the renter's personal property 
 in violation of this section is guilty of an unlawful eviction 
 under section 504A.251, paragraph (c), and is subject to penalty 
 under section 504A.251, paragraph (a).  This section may not be 
 waived or modified by lease or other agreement.  

    HIST: 1998 c 253 s 51