58 days' notice tough to dispute in court

Q We have a tenant whose lease ran from Feb. 1, 2007, through Jan. 31, 2008.

The lease requires the tenant to give 60 days' notice prior to vacating the apartment. The tenant notified us on Jan. 24 that she was vacating on Jan. 31.

Is our 60 days' notice valid?

The tenant did not return the keys until Feb. 4. If the 60 days' notice is not valid, is she liable for February rent and possibly March's?

A Your tenant is definitely responsible for February's rent because a minimum of 30 days' notice was required, which wasn't given. Whether you could prevail on requiring your tenant to pay March's rent depends on the judge's views regarding Minnesota Statute 504B.145 and whether your tenant will argue that 60 days' notice is invalid under that statute.

In Minnesota, many tenants have prevailed in arguing that a 60-day notice provision violates Minnesota Statute 504B.145 because automatic renewal of leases for periods of two months or more are invalid. But some Minnesota courts have decided for the landlord on this same issue.

I tell landlords that to be on the safe side, their notice provision should be 58 days, which clearly complies with the law.

The new company supplied the Certificate of Rent Paid (CRP), but it is only for July through December because the new company has received my rent only since it purchased the building.

I've been trying to contact the previous owners, but to no avail. I need the CRP for January through June. Are they supposed to provide this by law?

And what is my next course of action if I still can't reach them?

A Unfortunately, your new landlord can only give you a Certificate of Rent Paid for the rent they actually accepted from you, and your old landlord must provide a CRP for the remaining period. Your best bet is to contact the Minnesota Department of Revenue. They have a special tax help line at 651-296-3781 or 1-800-652-9094.