Frequently Asked Questions

Many cities, Maplewood included, require rental properties to be licensed. Licenses help ensure the continued health, safety, and welfare of all residents who live in rental properties and surrounding neighborhoods. Since operating a rental property is a business, doing so also requires certain responsibilities and standards to be upheld.

By requiring rental properties to be licensed, the City helps ensure owners, operators, and managers take reasonable steps to provide a safe, secure, sanitary, and reasonably nuisance-free environment for tenants and neighboring residents. Requiring rental licenses and minimum standards helps maintain property values and ensure the preservation of the city's existing housing supply.

No. A license is unnecessary if you own and live in the home you rent to a roommate.

Yes. It would be treated as a single-family rental unit.

Yes, you will need a separate license for each rental property you own.

Property owners are not required to hire a management company to oversee their rental property; however, if they reside outside of the seven-county metro area, they must designate an individual (agent) who resides within the area. Regardless of any designation, the property owner remains the responsible party for the rental property and for the conduct and performance of any manager or agent in matters related to the rental property.

If you sell or no longer rent your property, please submit a Declaration of Non-Rental or Exempt Use form to have the license inactivated. Licenses are non-transferable upon change of ownership, so if the property continues to be rented under new ownership, the new owner must apply for a new rental license.

The license requirement does not apply to the following:

1. A residential dwelling that is occupied by the owner or the owner's qualifying relatives (parent, stepparent, child, stepchild, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece; this relationship may be either by blood or by marriage).
2. A residential dwelling when the dwelling is rented for a period of less than 120 consecutive days, and the owner occupies the property during the remainder of the year (e.g., "snowbirds").
3. Minnesota Department of Health-licensed rest homes, convalescent care facilities, group homes, nursing homes, hotels, motels, or cooperatives.
4. A facility for which a reasonable accommodation has been granted by the city under the Federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988.
5.  A residential dwelling that is located on a property exempt under MN §272.02 and is used only by the tax-exempt owner as housing for its clergy members.

Licenses are valid for one (1) year and must be renewed annually. Expiration dates are determined based on the quarter the license was initially applied for. See below for details:       

Yes, each property owner will be required to undergo a background investigation prior to obtaining a license. Background investigations are conducted at the time of application and again every three (3) years. In the case of corporate ownership, a corporate officer or managing member of the company that owns the property must submit for a background investigation.

Licenses are non-transferable. If the property has been sold and will continue to operate as a rental, the new owners must apply for a new rental license.