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Landlord- Tenant Handbook: Other Important Laws http: / /www.tenant. net /Other Areas/Minnesota/hb4.htm1 tenant to prove the eviction was retaliatory. These provisions apply even to oral rental agreements. Minn. Stat. •566.28 (1992). 21. UNLAWFUL EXCLUSIONS AND PROPERTY CONFISCATION It is a misdemeanor for a landlord to physically lock a tenant out of the tenants rental unit or otherwise exclude a tenant (for example, by removing locks, doors, or windows from the rental unit) without a court order. A tenant who has been unlawfully locked out may petition the district court to get back in. The petition must: 1. Give a description of the rental unit. 2. Give the owner's name. 3. State the facts that make the lockout or exclusion unlawful. 4. Request that the tenant be given possession of the unit. Minn. Stat. 6504.25 (1992). If the court agrees with the tenant, it will order a law enforcement officer to help the tenant get back in. If the court decides that the landlord knew (or should have known) that the lockout or other exclusion was unlawful, the court may order the landlord to pay the tenant up to triple damages or $500, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney's fees. Minn. Stat. 6504.255 (19921. Also, a landlord cannot cart away or keep a tenant's belongings for nonpayment of rent or other charges. If a tenant finds that the landlord has taken the tenant's things, the tenant can get them back by demanding, in writing, that they be returned. The landlord has 24 hours to return them (48 hours if they are somewhere other than the apartment). If they aren't retumed, the landlord may be sued in conciliation court where he or she may be ordered not only to give the property back, but to pay the tenant punitive damages of up to $300 in addition to actual damages (cost of storage, hauling, physical damage, replacement, etc.) and reasonable attomey's fees. Minn. Stat. 6504.24, subd. 2 (1992). 22. LEASE VIOLATION AND OUTSTANDING RENT CASES In trying to evict a tenant, a landlord may combine two claims: (1) the tenant owes past rent, and (2) the tenant broke the lease. In a case where the landlord claims that the tenant owes past rent, the tenant does not have to pay into court the unpaid rent to defend against a claim that the tenant broke the lease. If the landlord loses on the claim that the tenant broke the lease, but the landlord has also claimed that the tenant owes past rent, the tenant can present defenses why the tenant doesn't owe the past rent. If the court determines that the tenant does indeed owe at least some of the past rent, the tenant shall be given up to seven days to pay the rent. The court can order the tenant to pay the rent, and any costs, either directly to the landlord or to be deposited with the court. 23. UTILITY CASES A landlord may not unlawfully shut off a tenant's utilities. To do so with an intent to make the tenant move out is a misdemeanor. Minn. Stat. 6504.25 (1992). If a landlord has unlawfully cut off utility services, a tenant can sue the landlord in court to recover triple damages or $500, whichever is greater, and reasonable attorney's fees. However, a tenant may recover only actual damages if: 1. In the beginning, he or she had failed to notify the landlord of the interruption of utilities. 2. The landlord, once notified, had the services reinstated within a reasonable time or had 4 of 9 10/31/99 7:37 PM