Tenant Screening in Minnesota

FCRA-compliant tenant screening for landlords in Minnesota — serving Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Rochester, Duluth, Bloomington and every other Minnesota market. Reports start at $24.99 with no subscription. Minnesota-specific reporting-law overlays are applied automatically before the landlord sees any record.

What landlords in Minnesota can include in a screening report

• Credit report and score — TransUnion VantageScore plus tradeline detail.
• Criminal background — nationwide criminal record search with Minnesota-specific look-back limits applied.
• Housing records — sealed, dismissed, and time-barred housing-court records filtered before they reach you.
• Income verification — optional payroll + bank-link verification via Pinwheel.
• AI landlord reference call — optional AI agent calls the applicant’s prior landlord and produces a structured summary.

Housing records reporting in Minnesota

Minnesota Statute § 484.014 provides for expungement of housing records in certain circumstances; expunged records must be excluded from consumer reports.

Statutory citation: Minn. Stat. § 484.014

How reporting limits interact with what you may lawfully consider is covered in what landlords can screen for and the investigative consumer report explainer.

Criminal-record reporting in Minnesota

Federal FCRA 7-year limit applies. Minnesota has expanded expungement rights.

Fair housing in Minnesota

The Minnesota Human Rights Act, Minn. Stat. § 363A applies in addition to the federal Fair Housing Act. Source of income is a protected class statewide in Minnesota — landlords may not refuse to consider an applicant solely because they intend to pay with a housing-choice voucher or similar lawful source.

Notable Minnesota considerations

Source of income is a protected class statewide. Saint Paul and Minneapolis have rent-control ordinances.

What Minnesota law limits when you screen and rent

These are the statutory limits most likely to affect a Minnesota landlord at the application stage, compiled from state statutes and reviewed August 2026. Where a limit could not be tied to a specific statute it is left out rather than estimated. Statutes change and local ordinances often add limits your state does not — this is a starting point for your own check, not legal advice, and not a substitute for counsel licensed in Minnesota.

Rental application / screening fee

Minnesota sets no dollar cap on applicant screening fees, but a landlord may not charge one when no unit is available and must refund any portion not actually spent on screening. Citation: Minn. Stat. § 504B.173 (restrictions and refunds; no maximum amount)

Security deposit limit

Minnesota sets no statewide maximum on residential security deposits; state law governs only interest, permitted withholding, and return. Citation: Minn. Stat. § 504B.178 (no maximum)

Criminal history (fair-chance housing)

Minnesota has no statewide fair-chance housing law; Minneapolis and St. Paul limit criminal-history screening by local ordinance. Citation: No Minnesota statute; Minneapolis and St. Paul renter-protection ordinances

Local ordinances frequently add limits your state statute does not — check your city and county before you set an application fee or a deposit.

How RentalApplication.ai works for Minnesota landlords

1. You start a screening at rentalapplication.ai/apply. Enter the applicant’s name and email; pick the reports you want.
2. The applicant gets an email with a secure link, completes the application, and authorizes the screening (FCRA § 1681b(b)(2)).
3. The applicant pays at the moment of submission (or you can land-lord-pay).
4. Reports are delivered to you in minutes (credit) to a few hours (housing/criminal). State-law overlays are applied before the landlord sees any record.
5. If you decline based on the report, we generate the FCRA § 1681m adverse-action notice for you.

This page is an informational summary, not legal advice. State and local landlord-tenant law changes frequently — verify against current statute and local counsel before relying on this content. RentalApplication.ai is a reseller of consumer reports under FCRA § 1681a(u) and does not make tenancy decisions. The landlord (the “end user”) is the party who decides whether to approve or deny an application.