Rental Dwellings

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Application Procedures

Criteria

Rental License Criteria

Application

Rental Dwelling License Application Packet (New License Application Only)
New and renewal rental licenses can also be applied for online. Register as a new user if you haven't used the software before.

Forms

Application Submission

A rental dwelling license application is required to be submitted with the appropriate fee to the Community Development Department at City Hall.
The application must be filled out completely with owner name, address (no P.O. box), phone number, date of birth, and local agent information. If the application is by a natural person, by such person; if by a corporation, by an officer thereof; if by a limited liability company, by a member thereof; if by a partnership, by one of the partners; if by an unincorporated association, by the manager or managing officer thereof.
A local agent is required if the property owner lives outside of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Service Area (Minnesota counties of Hennepin, Ramsey, Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Scott, or Washington).
A Minnesota Business Tax Identification Number form must be completed. If applicant is an individual, personal information section must be completed including social security number. If business, business information section must be completed including Minnesota and Federal tax identification numbers.
One time submission of a copy of your lease addendum for Crime-Free/Drug-Free Housing

Application Review Process

Once a complete application and fee are received, a health safety inspection is scheduled for the property.
Owners of rental property must be current on property taxes and utility fees at all times.
The City Council approves and authorizes the issuance of rental dwelling licenses only after the Compliance Official has determined that all life and health safety violations or discrepancies have been corrected and property taxes and utility fees are current.

License Fees

Item	Fee
Single Family Dwelling Initial License/New Owner	$400
Single Family Dwelling Rental Conversion*	$500
Single Family Renewal	$300
Two Family Dwelling	$200 per unit
Multiple Family Dwelling	$200 each building $18 each unit $450 minimum base fee
Rental Re-inspections (1-3 Units)	$100
Rental Re-inspections (4+ Units)	$50 per unit $100 per common area
Rental Compliance Order Appeals	$50

*One-time fee if a property is a single family dwelling or single family attached dwelling (townhouse, rowhouse) converted to a rental property or a registered residential vacant building reoccupied as a rental property.

Licensed Rental Properties

Each month the report of licensed rental properties in the city is updated. These reports contain the addresses and owners of the properties that have been issued a rental license by the City Council.

There may be other properties that are pending a rental license but have not been issued a rental license, as the property owner is required to be current on City utility payments and property taxes, as well as have completed a health and safety inspection on the dwelling.

Rental properties are grouped by TYPE I, TYPE II, TYPE III, TYPE IV and listed in alphabetical order by address.

October 31, 2024

Licensed Rental Dwellings

September 30, 2024

Licensed Rental Dwellings

September 17, 2024

Licensed Rental Dwellings

July 25, 2024

Licensed Rental Dwellings

June 14, 2024

Licensed Rental Dwellings

May 31, 2024

Licensed Rental Dwellings

Smoke-Free Housing Opportunities

Looking for smoke-free housing? Live Smoke Free is a local nonprofit that helps renters find solutions to secondhand smoke problems and identify smoke-free housing opportunities. For more information call (651) 646-3005 or visit www.mnsmokefreehousing.org.

Tenant/Landlord Information

The City of Brooklyn Center encourages good tenant/landlord relationships. The rights and duties of landlords and tenants in Minnesota is described in the handbook Landlords and Tenants: Rights and Responsibilities published by the Attorney General's office. This booklet covers lease agreements, background checks, screening, security deposits, evictions, and other tenants/landlord issues.

Three additions have been added to the Tenant Protection Ordinance. These items include: Pre-eviction filing notice, Just cause notice of non-renewal of lease to tenants, and Private enforcement of Tenant Protection Ordinance.

HOME Line

(612) 728-5767

HOME Line provides free legal, organizing, education, and advocacy services so that tenants can solve their own rental housing problems. HOME Line works to improve public and private policies relating to rental housing by involving affected tenants in the process. Tenant/landlord law advice and problem-solving includes:

Explanations of applicable laws
Procedures for legal options available to tenants
Providing form letters, fact sheets, excerpts from statutes, or other written information
Referrals to local housing inspectors, sources of emergency assistance, etc.
Tenants who contact HOME Line will usually receive immediate attention to their problem from one of the staff attorneys or law student volunteers. Tenants will receive free advice regarding Minnesota landlord/tenant law and options for resolving the problem will be offered. HOME Line is free and available to all tenants, regardless of income.

Hennepin County Tenant Resource Center

Hennepin County has engaged six organizations to provide outreach and navigation for Emergency Rental Assistance applications.

The six organizations are:

Black Women's Wealth Alliance
CAPI USA
Conflict Resolution Center (CRC)
Lao Assistance Center of Minnesota
Somali Community Resettlement Services
The Anika Foundation

Their goal is to maintain housing stability for Hennepin County tenants. Check out Tenant Resource Center for more information.

Housing Programs

If you are a tenant seeking information, or assistance on your current application, contact 211. Local 211 is the best resource for help finding options to pay rent and/or utility bills.

Crime Free Housing Program

City Code Section 12-914
For the purpose of City Code Chapter 12, the Crime Free Housing Program shall mean the nationally recognized program, unless otherwise indicated. The phases of the program include, but are not limited to, the conditions set forth below.

Phase I (Required for Type II, III, and IV Rental Licenses)
For license categories other than Type I, an owner, manager, or local agent responsible for the operation of the rental property must complete the Phase I training of the Crime Free Housing Program or a similar course approved by the City Manager. Certification as a rental property manager may also satisfy this requirement. Phase I includes the following:

Attend an eight-hour crime-free housing course presented by police, fire, public housing and others.
Use a written lease including the Minnesota Crime Free Housing Lease Addendum.
Check the criminal background of all prospective tenants and, upon request, provide a copy of Third Party Background Check procedures for Tenants.
Actively pursue the eviction of tenants who violate the terms of the lease and/or the Crime Free Lease Addendum.

Phase II (Required for Type III and IV Rental Licenses)
Includes Phase I plus the following:

Complete a Security Assessment and complete the security improvements recommended. This phase will certify that the rental property has met the security requirements for the tenant’s safety.

Phase III (Required for Type IV Rental Licenses)
Includes Phases I and II plus the following:

For properties with more than four units, conduct resident training annually for the residents where crime watch and crime prevention techniques are discussed.
For properties with more than four units, hold regular resident meetings.
Have no City Code violations that were not resolved in accordance with compliance orders within the past year.

Resources and Links

For more information regarding the Security Assessment and Crime Free Housing, call (763) 569-3330.

Brooklyn Center requires the licensing of rental property as defined in Chapter 12 of the City Code. The purpose is to assure that rental housing is decent, safe, and sanitary and is operated and maintained in a manner to not become a nuisance to the neighborhood or become an influence that fosters blight/deterioration or creates a disincentive to reinvestment in the community.

The operation of rental residential properties is a business enterprise that necessitates certain responsibilities. Operators are responsible for taking such reasonable steps as necessary to assure that the citizens of Brooklyn Center who occupy such units may pursue the quiet enjoyment of the normal activities of life in surroundings that are safe, secure, and sanitary.

If you own property and let it for occupancy but do not occupy the property, you must obtain a rental dwelling license, regardless if the property is occupied by a relative or if there is compensation.

In April of 2010, a new performance-based rental license program was implemented. License categories are based on the condition of the property as determined by the rental license inspection and by excessive validated public nuisance police calls. The conditions attached to each license category are designed to help the operator maintain and improve the condition and management of the property.

Learn more about Brooklyn Center Rental Program including inspection information, the Association for Responsible Management (ARM), and additional resources.

License Exceptions

A license is not required under the following circumstances:

A single-family dwelling or a dwelling unit in a duplex occupied by the building owner for a minimum of six months per calendar year.
A residential property owned by a “snowbird” where the property is rented to another person for a period of less than 120 consecutive days while the owner is residing out of the state of Minnesota; the owner must occupy the property during the remainder of the year.
Rented rooms within an owner-occupied dwelling unit
Unoccupied dwelling units that have been issued a vacant building registration

Failure to Comply

Owners of a non-licensed rental property may be prosecuted and sentenced to rental penalties, prosecution charges and fines, and in some cases local confinement for a rental license violation. Rental license violation is a misdemeanor.

State Licensed Assisted Living Facilities

On May 19, 2024, The State of Minnesota passed a bill that prohibits cities from requiring a rental license on State licensed assisted living facilities with six (6) or fewer residents. For properties with a rental license that is also a State licensed assisted living facility with six (6) or fewer residents, the rental license has been made inactive. The City will no longer require a rental license. The business can still operate in the City and at the property. The State will continue to regulate any licensed assisted living facilities, and any questions or concerns should be directed to the State. The exterior of the property is still required to be maintained and is still subject to the City's property maintenance standards. The licensed assisted living facility is still required to obtain any building, plumbing, mechanical and/or electrical permits through the City for work that is done on the property.

For more information about the bill, you can go here and read the bill that was passed.

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