(A) A rental property owner shall be responsible to take appropriate action against persons occupying specific units in the licensed premises or premises who conduct themselves in such a manner as to cause the premises to be disorderly in violation of the statutes and ordinances listed in division (B) below. For the purposes of this section, the term
PERSONS OCCUPYING THE PREMISES shall include residential tenants as defined by Minn. Stat. § 504B.001, Subd. 12, as it may be amended from time to time, and those persons on the licensed premises whose presence the tenant has invited, or to which the tenant has acquiesced. Violations of this section apply to individual units within buildings containing multiple units when the conduct occurs within a unit. Violations of this section by persons occupying specific units that occur within a common area of the licensed premises shall apply both to the individual unit and the common area of the licensed premises.
(B) The following ordinances and statues are applicable to this section:
(1) Minn. Stat. §§ 609.321 through 609.325, as they may be amended from time to time, prohibiting prostitution;
(2) Section 130.01 of this code of ordinances prohibiting tumultuous conduct;
(3) Minn. Stat. § 609.72, as it may be amended from time to time, and § 130.07 of this code of ordinances prohibiting disorderly conduct;
(4) Minn. Stat. § 609.33, as it may be amended from time to time, prohibiting disorderly houses;
(5) Minn. Stat. §§ 617.23 through 617.299, as they may be amended from time to time, prohibiting obscenity;
(6) Minn. Stat. §§ 609.75 through 609.763, as they may be amended from time to time, prohibiting gambling;
(7) Minn. Stat. §§ 152.01 through 152.025 and 152.027, Subd. 1 and 2, as they may be amended from time to time, which prohibit the unlawful sale or possession of controlled substances;
(8) Minn. Stat. Ch. 340A, as it may be amended from time to time, prohibiting the unlawful sale, use or possession of alcoholic beverages;
(9) Minn. Stat. §§ 609.66 through 609.67 and §§ 624.712 through 624.719, as they may be amended from time to time, and Ch. 133 of this code of ordinances, which prohibits the unlawful possession, transportation, sale or use of a weapon;
(10) Minn. Stat. §§ 609.221 through § 609.224, as they may be amended from time to time, which prohibit assaults, except that domestic assaults, as the same are defined by state law, are not included herein;
(11) Minn. Stat. § 609.50, as it may be amended from time to time, which prohibits interference with a peace officer;
(12) Minn. Stat. § 609.705, as it may be amended from time to time, which prohibits unlawful assembly;
(13) Minn. Stat. § 609.71, as it may be amended from time to time, which prohibits riot;
(14) Minn. Stat. § 609.713, as it may be amended from time to time, which prohibits terroristic threats;
(15) Minn. Stat. § 609.715, as it may be amended from time to time, which prohibits presence of unlawful assembly;
(16) Minn. Stat. §§ 609.226 and 347.50 through 347.565, as they may be amended from time to time, dangerous dogs;
(17) Table 1003.2.2.2 of the International Fire Code elsewhere adopted in this code of ordinances, providing occupancy loads and prohibiting overcrowding;
(18) Minn. Stat. §§ 609.74 through 609.745, as they may be amended from time to time, prohibiting public nuisances and Ch. 93 of this code of ordinances prohibiting nuisances defined therein;
(19) Minn. Stat. § 609.78, as it may be amended from time to time, which prohibits interfering with “911" telephone calls; and
(20) Minn. Stat. § 299F.362, as it may be amended from time to time, prohibiting the willful disabling of a smoke detector.
(C) The Chief of Police, City Administrator or their designees shall be charged with the responsibility of enforcing division (B) above.
(D) Upon determination by the city that the licensed premises were involved in a disorderly use, the city shall notify the license holder by regular mail of such violation and direct the license holder to take appropriate action to prevent further violations. Notice shall be effective if mailed to the license holder at the person’s last known address. This and subsequent notices are collectively referred to as “disorderly use notices”.
(E) If another instance of disorderly use of the premises occurs within 12 months of an incident for which a prior disorderly use notice was given, the license holder shall be notified of the instance of disorderly use and shall also be required to submit a written report of appropriate actions taken by the rental property owner to prevent further disorderly use of the premises. The written report shall be submitted to the Chief of Police within five days of the notice of disorderly use of the premises and shall, in addition to the report of appropriate actions to be taken, detail all actions taken by the rental property owner in response to all notices of disorderly use of the premises within the preceding 12 months. Failure to submit a written report as required herein shall be a basis for the imposition of a fine and the revocation or suspension of the license or right to receive the license for the specific unit or units located on the licensed premises as otherwise provided for in this section. If the notice of violation has been issued with respect to a common area of the building or complex of buildings, then the license or right to obtain such license as to all units in such building or complex may be suspended or revoked.
(F) If another instance of disorderly use of the premises occurs within 12 months of the two or more prior disorderly use notices, the license or right to obtain such license may be revoked or suspended for a specific unit or units located on the licensed premises. If the notice of violation has been issued with respect to a common area of the building or complex of buildings, then the license or right to obtain such license as to all units in such building or complex may be suspended or revoked.
(G) If another instance of disorderly use occurs within 12 months of the expiration of a prior suspension issued pursuant to the provisions of this section, the license or right to obtain such license may be revoked or suspended for the specific unit or units located on the licensed premises. If the notice of violation has been issued with respect to a common area of a building or complex of buildings, then the license or right to obtain such license as to all units in such building or complex may be suspended or revoked.
(H) No suspension or revocation or other sanctions shall be imposed where one or more of the three required disorderly use notices were mailed or delivered to the landlord after the rental property owner has filed an unlawful detainer action with the district court for the particular unit or units identified in the disorderly use notice. Calls to the police made by rental property owners or managers shall not be considered incidents of disorderly use in the implementation of divisions (D), (E), (F) and (G) above. The initiation of an unlawful detainer action shall not be a bar to sanctions, however, unless the action is diligently pursued by the rental property owner. Notice of and a copy of the unlawful detainer action shall be delivered to the Chief of Police. A determination that the licensed premises have been involved in a disorderly use, as described in division (B) above, shall be made upon the preponderance of the evidence. It shall not be necessary that criminal charges be brought against a tenant or other person to support a determination of disorderly use, nor shall the fact of dismissal or acquittal of such criminal charge operate as a bar to adverse license action under this section.
(I) This subchapter applies to all leases, whether written or oral, and a landlord may consider any tenant’s conduct listed in division (B) above, to be both a material breach of the lease and grounds for termination in any unlawful detainer action.
(J) This subchapter is not intended to supersede criminal sanctions that may be applied to the individual who violates the statutes and ordinances in division (B) above.
(K) Consistent with Minn. Stat. § 5048.205, Subd. 3, nothing in this subchapter:
(1) Requires an eviction after a specified number of calls by residential tenant for police or emergency assistance in response to domestic abuse or any other conduct; or
(2) Provides that calls by a residential tenant for police or emergency assistance in response to domestic abuse or any other conduct may be used to penalize or assess a fine to a landlord.
(1992 Code, § 455:10) (Ord. 1317, passed 5-20-2003; Ord. 1529, passed 11-2-2015)