Minnesota's first in the nation Rental Bans

[chessgeek]

Has anyone been able to find out the Minnesota Supreme Court decision on the rental bans? I could not find any information when I searched. I will be surprised if they are allowed to remain in effect.

[glendog]

Originally Posted by chessgeek

Has anyone been able to find out the Minnesota Supreme Court decision on the rental bans? I could not find any information when I searched. I will be surprised if they are allowed to remain in effect.

The Minnesota Supreme Court has recently agreed to hear the Rental Ban case but have not ruled on the case yet. A ruling is expected by the end of the year.
Fight over rental restrictions heads to MN Supreme Court « Watchdog.org

[Rail-to-Rail]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

That isn't exactly new. Minneapolis has tried to maintain a balance between resident owner and absentee owner for some time. Transient communities have more crime and are a public expense. Trouble is that nonresidents come in to buy cheap houses as investments. They then rent to the wrong people and don't supervise them. Next thing you know you have places that receive multiple police calls for all sorts of disruption of neighborhoods. It isn't a matter of banning renting, it is a matter of transitioning one neighborhood after another to rental. I lived in Minneapolis rentals for decades. The idea that rentals are scarce in Minneapolis is a myth. By the way, converting your house from homestead to rental here is very expensive, for all the same reasons. We prize our owner-occupied homes.

I always thought the strict rules on rentals in Minneapolis were designed to cause properties to be forfeited to the Minneapolis Community Development Agency. Like the laws about if a crime is committed by a stranger on your rental property, you lose the property to the city.

The same people sit on the board of the MCDA and the City Council that passed the laws that trigger forfeiture of property, and I think it's a conflict of interest.

At least that's how it all looked to me before I got the hell out of there after living in South Minneapolis for 20 years of my adult life.

[glendog]

As we await the Minnesota Supreme Court's Ruling on these Rental Bans in Minnesota, here is some more background information on the case. It's good to see the ACLU standing up against these Rental Bans now too.
The Institute for Justice
MN Rental Caps | The Institute for Justice
http://www.ij.org/images/pdf_folder/...for-review.pdf

[glendog]

Minnesota Supreme Court Hears the case.
State Supreme Court hears dispute over Winona's rental limits | Star Tribune
http://www.ij.org/mn-rental-caps-background
Winona rental ordinance heads to Minn. Supreme Court | Star Tribune

[ipkl07]

I think it's a good idea to ban rentals after a certain point in a neighborhood. They can ruin a neighborhood. I like the point system as well. That's when if the cops are called out to your rental property you lose points and after so many points you can no longer rent that property out. It sometimes makes people care who they rent to, because the cops were getting called out to these properties two to three times a day if not more. Since the morals and values of society are diminishing and seemingly more and more people don't care the laws need to change to accomodate that!

[glendog]

Originally Posted by ipkl07

I think it's a good idea to ban rentals after a certain point in a neighborhood. They can ruin a neighborhood. I like the point system as well. That's when if the cops are called out to your rental property you lose points and after so many points you can no longer rent that property out. It sometimes makes people care who they rent to, because the cops were getting called out to these properties two to three times a day if not more. Since the morals and values of society are diminishing and seemingly more and more people don't care the laws need to change to accomodate that!

I am on the same page with you, right up until you start arbitrarily removing some people's rights while allowing others to keep theirs. The ends do not justify the means. You can't legislate morality or good behavior but you can hold them accountable for it by enforcing the existing housing and rental codes already on the books and which are applied evenly to everyone, not arbitrarily like these bans. Furthermore the tendency some have to blame "renters" is misplaced. Anytime you start scapegoating or blaming certain people or any class of people in a society you are going down a treacherous road. Societies that have done so in the past were scary places to live! These rental bans are most certainly discriminatory, not fair and equitable for everyone, do not provide equal protection under the law and thus are most likely unconstitutional.

[uptown_urbanist]

I rented for many years. I now own a home. Nothing magically transformed me into a better neighbor or more responsible person once I owned in the neighborhood instead or renting. Owning did make me into a better person. I agree with glendog on this one -- we have policies already on the books. And when it comes to problem behaviors, the issue is the behavior, not whether or not the person responsible is sending their checks to the bank or to a landlord.