Victim information disclosure prohibition clarified.
Summary
HF2296 clarifies Minnesota’s landlord-tenant law governing the confidentiality of information provided by tenants who are victims of violence. The bill specifies that landlords may not disclose information a tenant provides in the required written notice, information contained in qualifying documents, the tenant’s new address or location, or the tenant’s status as a victim of violence. It also states that this protected information may not be entered into a shared database or shared with any person or entity, except in limited circumstances such as evidence in an eviction proceeding, an action for unpaid rent or tenancy-related damages, claims under the tenant’s existing housing rights statute, with the tenant’s consent, or when otherwise required by law.
The bill further provides that these confidentiality protections override any conflicting document signed by the tenant, including a release-of-information form. A landlord who violates the law is subject to statutory damages of $2,000, plus reasonable attorney fees and costs. The measure takes effect the day after final enactment.
Impact
HF2296 amends Minnesota Statutes section 504B.206, subdivision 2, strengthening and clarifying the legal duty of landlords to keep victim-related information confidential. It expands the statute’s express nondisclosure rules, limits how such information may be used or shared, and creates a clear private remedy for violations. The bill directly affects landlords, tenants who are victims of violence, and any entities that might otherwise receive tenant information through databases or disclosure forms.
Sentiment
The available legislative history suggests broad support for the bill. It passed the Minnesota House 133-0, indicating unanimous approval among voting members. No committee transcript is available here, but the vote outcome and the bill’s narrow clarifying purpose suggest the measure was viewed as a protective, noncontroversial update to existing tenant privacy law.
Contention
There is little visible contention in the available record. The main policy issue is the balance between protecting victim privacy and preserving limited landlord access to information for legal proceedings, unpaid rent claims, damages claims, and other situations required by law. The bill resolves that balance by making confidentiality paramount while preserving those narrow exceptions, and the unanimous House vote indicates no recorded opposition at that stage.
Written lease requirements modified, disclosure of additional landlord contact information required, landlords prohibited from listing the name of a minor child of a tenant in a lease or eviction complaint, right to view rental unit established, and penalties against landlords established.