It is absolutely imperative that you stay aware of your legal rights and responsibilities during this process. Renting from a landlord is, after all, a legal agreement, and there are a lot of details and factors that you should be familar with so you can make smart, safe decisions.
There are two comprehensive and reliable sources for your legal rights in the state of Minnesota, provided by the Office of the Attorney General.
- http://www.ag.state.mn.us/consumer/housing/lt/default.htm
This site has an easy to navigate table of contents with a full list of laws, processes, and rights for every step of renting. Also provided are downloadable forms for complaints and requests. - http://www.ag.state.mn.us/consumer/PDF/Landlord_Tenants_2003.pdf
This pdf has 42 pages of legal information, in case you need to know your exact rights to handle a legal situation.More helpful information on how to handle repair needs, and reiterated information on tenant-landlord rights, can be found at http://www.stthomas.edu/commutercenter/off-campus_guide/off-campus_guide7.htm - http://www.smrls.org
Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS); SMRLS provides free legal services to low-income. They use their resources to advise and represent clients who rent and have repair issues that their landlords are not addressing.
If you have any questions about how to best handle a legal situation or conflict, you may email mcdowell@stolaf.edu and she will tell you where best to direct your question.