1999 Minnesota Statutes

     504.015 Tenant to be given copy of lease. 

    Subdivision 1.    Definitions.  For the purposes of this 
 section, "owner" has the meaning given it in section 566.18, and 
 "tenant" means any person occupying the dwelling unit whose 
 signature appears on the lease agreement. 

    Subd. 2.    Copy of written lease to tenant.  An owner 
 shall give a tenant a copy of a written lease.  An owner may 
 obtain a signed and dated receipt, either as a separate document 
 or an acknowledgment included in the lease agreement itself, 
 from the tenant acknowledging that the tenant has received a 
 copy of the lease.  This signed receipt or acknowledgment is 
 prima facie evidence that the tenant has received a copy of the 
 lease. 

    Subd. 3.    Legal action to enforce lease.  In any legal 
 action to enforce a written lease, except for nonpayment of 
 rent, disturbing the peace, malicious destruction of property, 
 or a violation of section 504.181, it is a defense for the 
 tenant to establish that the owner failed to comply with 
 subdivision 2.  This defense may be overcome if the owner 
 establishes that the tenant had actual knowledge of the term or 
 terms of the lease upon which any legal action is based. 

    HIST: 1993 c 317 s 2 

*   NOTE:  This section is repealed by Laws 1998, chapter 253, 
*section 80, effective July 1, 1999.  Laws 1998, chapter 253, 
*section 81.