Partying tenants might need police visit

Q I moved into my unit in March and have a one-year lease. I have a 7-year-old daughter. The people who live directly above me have had several loud parties until 4 or 5 a.m. Someone else in the building has called the police on them. I think they are moving out. Today, I found an invitation outside the building that indicated that these neighbors were going to have a "farewell blowout" and that they were going to "rock the building." I called the landlord, but he said there was nothing he could do, because there had not yet been any party. What are my options?

A There is no great answer.

If the tenants are moving, the landlord can't really threaten to evict them before the party, because an eviction action requires seven days' notice, so there isn't time to get into court and have the tenants evicted before the party. The landlord could try to expedite the eviction action or try to enjoin the tenants from having a party, but those options would probably be expensive. If the tenants are moving out, the landlord probably doesn't want to spend any more time or money on them.

You could try to bring an emergency tenants' remedies action or seek to prohibit the party. If you want to go to court to try and stop the party, you might want to contact a tenant assistance organization such as HOME Line at 612-728-5767 or go to housing court and ask for the forms.

If the police gave the tenants a citation, they might be interested that the tenants are planning another party. You might want to bring the flier into the police department. If the police have come to your building multiple times, they might shut the party down.

Unexpected expensesQ I'm renting a house in St. Paul for which I signed a one-year lease in July. I pay for heat and electricity, which comes on one bill from Xcel.

The owners of the house insisted, some time after lease negotiations, that I run their dehumidifier in the garage and run their garden fountain to keep mosquitoes from breeding. These are electric costs I hadn't anticipated. However, I have done as they asked, and indeed my bill is higher than I expected.

Do I have any recourse?

A Minnesota Statute 504B.215 applies to multiunit rental buildings with one meter. You are in a single-unit building, so this law doesn't technically apply. But the law was designed to cover rental situations that involve sharing electrical expenses.

Under Statute 504B.161, every landlord has a duty to keep the unit in reasonable repair and make it reasonably energy-efficient. Since you are paying a higher electric bill to keep the roof in good condition, you're paying to cover the landlord's expenses to keep the place up. You can argue these terms needed to be in the lease if the landlord wanted you to cover the expense.

Also, under Statute 504B.161, the landlord has a duty to make the house reasonably energy-efficient based on current and projected average residential energy costs in Minnesota. Landlords can't waive or modify this requirement by passing it on to the tenant.

Talk to your landlord again about your potentially higher electric bill, preferably before winter hits. Request that the landlord pay some of the expense, because the bill will be higher than the average electric bill in Minnesota during the winter and you didn't agree to it in your lease. Try to get an agreement in writing so both parties know what they will be expected to pay.