Landlord battles haunt Twin Cities low-income renters

While unlawful detainers are almost always about missed rent, they also capture other kinds of fights with landlords that have nothing to do with rent.

News Story (Minnesota)

Max Nesterak
Minnesota Public Radio
February 22, 2018
READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Tags: Housing: Eviction, Housing: Landlord-Tenant, Lead Poisoning

Organizations mentioned/involved: Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid


DETAILS

Unlawful detainers show up on tenants’ records any time a landlord files paperwork for an eviction. It doesn’t mean the renter was evicted like Davis and Perkins. It just means the landlord started the eviction process.

Davis and Perkins settled four of their UDs out of court. In those cases, they had fallen about a month behind in rent. They paid the landlord to settle the case. In two instances they even stayed in their home and continue renting from the landlord who tried to evict them.

These all happened between 2011 and 2013, but they say it still makes it nearly impossible for them to find a house to rent.