Landlord Question and Answer Forum

Hi all, We have a unique situation where we offered horse board along with rental of our basement mother-in-law suite. We told the tenant in a text message on April 23 that it is time for her horse to go. She did the proverbial...."You can't fire me, I quit routine." She provided us of notice of her intent to move-out and to get her horse out asap along with slanderous accusations that her safety and her horses safety are in jeopardy. (short version!) She has just paid rent and board for May which for sure is her last month with her horse on the property in 2 separate checks. Due to MN law, we are not certain whether or not the 45 days notice requirement in our lease applies on the rental unit. (it was a 6 month lease that ended on March 31 - no new lease was entered into, so it went to a month to month tenancy at will.) We don't care if she pays rent for June or not, if she and her horse leaves by May 31, 2013. We just want them out of our home! My concern is "if we accept her rent payment and board payment check without disputing her accusations, are we in effect saying that her lies are true? Will she be able to try to sue us or something in the future? Any advice would be greatly appreciated." Thank you!

If the lease is month to month, then you should be able to give notice of that time frame. If you accept rent for that month she is living there, that seems normal... since she is living there. However, you must move forward with eviction if she chooses not to move.

Posted by karen s, WI on Thursday, May 2, 2013