Utilities Clause
in Your Lease
What it actually means, what Minnesota law says, what's specific to Minneapolis - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- Under Minn. Stat. § 504B.221(a), if a landlord, an agent or a person acting under the landlord's direction or control interrupts or causes the interruption of electricity, heat, gas or water service, the tenant may recover "treble damages or $500, whichever is greater, and reasonable attorney's fees."
- The $500 is a floor the tenant's notice protects. The recovery is actual damages if no notice was given, if the landlord restored service or made a good faith effort within a reasonable period after notice, or if a repair or safety interruption was fixed within a reasonable period.
- An intentional shutoff meant to force a tenant out is a misdemeanor under § 504B.225, which presumes that intent once an intentional interruption is shown. § 609.03(3) allows up to 90 days or a fine of up to $1,000, or both, for a misdemeanor with no other punishment.
- In a shared-metered building, § 504B.216, subd. 12(a) prohibits a landlord from disconnecting a tenant for failure to pay utility charges, and a violation is a violation of § 504B.221. It covers leases entered into or renewed on or after January 1, 2025.
- A lease term waiving § 504B.221 or § 504B.225 "is contrary to public policy and void". Minneapolis § 244.590(a) separately bars an owner or operator from shutting off a service the housing maintenance code requires, outside temporary interruptions during actual repairs.
Understanding the Utilities Clause
Who pays for heat, power and water is a lease term. Whether the landlord may stop them is not, and in Minneapolis the answer comes from a state statute with a dollar floor and a city ban of its own.
The state text is Minn. Stat. § 504B.221. A landlord who interrupts electricity, heat, gas or water service to a tenant owes treble damages or $500, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney's fees.
Your own notice matters: without it, or where the landlord restores service within a reasonable period after it, the recovery is actual damages.
The city text is Minneapolis Code § 244.590(a), which bars an owner or operator from shutting off a service the housing maintenance code requires in an occupied unit. The city also requires written notice of who pays each utility before a unit is let, under § 244.270.
What renters assume
If the lease bills a share of the gas or electric through the landlord and the tenant falls behind on it, the landlord can cut the service until the tenant pays.
What is actually true
In a shared-metered building, § 504B.216, subd. 12(a) says: "Disconnection of a tenant's utility service by a landlord for the failure to pay utility service charges is prohibited." A violation is a violation of § 504B.221, which carries treble damages or $500, whichever is greater, for leases entered into or renewed on or after January 1, 2025. Outside that setting, § 504B.221 itself reaches any landlord who interrupts electricity, heat, gas or water service to a tenant.
Ten of the 21 rows carry no fixed dollar figure, answering in rent multiples, daily amounts with no ceiling, or damages with no fixed sum. The other 11 run from New York City at $10,000 through Denver at $5,000, Las Vegas at $2,500, Washington at $2,000 and Austin at $1,000.
Below them sit Atlanta, Baltimore and Minneapolis at $500, Chicago and Boston at $300, and Detroit at $200.
Minneapolis shares a bar height with Atlanta and Baltimore, but not a meaning. Those two rows read as fines, while Minnesota's $500 goes to the tenant and is a floor, with treble damages where they are larger.
It can also fall away to actual damages, without notice to the landlord or with service restored within a reasonable period after it. The criminal side, a fine of up to $1,000 under § 609.03(3), is a separate figure the bar does not show.
Plain English Version
Your lease can say who pays which utility bill, but it cannot give your landlord the right to cut your power, heat, gas or water. If a landlord does, Minnesota lets you recover three times your losses or $500, whichever is more, plus lawyer's fees.
Tell the landlord about the outage and keep a record of when you did: with no notice, or if the landlord fixes it within a reasonable time after you tell them, you get your actual losses instead. In Minneapolis, the city code separately bars shutting off services the housing code requires.
Utilities Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Minneapolis, MN
The sample clause below is real lease language - a court quoted it word for word, and then ruled on it. What the judge decided is at the bottom of this block.
Find the equivalent paragraph in your own lease and read the two side by side. The wording will differ; the moving parts rarely do.
Upon Tenant’s request, Landlord will provide a copy of the actual utility bill for the property. In addition, Landlord will make available an accounting of the utility bill prorations.
Quoted from the published opinion in Kutscheid v. Emerald Square Properties, Inc., 770 N.W.2d 529 (Minn. Ct. App. 2009). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
“Upon Tenant’s request”
In Minneapolis one piece of utility information is owed before any request. Under Minneapolis Code § 244.270, no one may let a dwelling for rent without first giving the tenant written notice of who the bill payer is for each utility. Where no separate meter accurately measures the unit's electricity, gas or water, the owner must contract with the utility and be the bill payer and customer of record. That settles whose name is on the account; how much of it reaches your monthly bill is a separate question for the lease.
“actual utility bill for the”
In a shared-metered building the actual bill sits on the landlord's account, and Minnesota will not let the landlord collect your share by cutting you off. § 504B.216, subd. 12(a) says “Disconnection of a tenant's utility service by a landlord for the failure to pay utility service charges is prohibited,” and subdivision 12(g) counts a service or load limiter as a disconnection. Where a landlord says you owe both rent and utilities, subdivision 12(b) applies your payments to unpaid rent first.
“Landlord will make available”
In Minnesota the remedy for a cut service depends on what the tenant makes known. Under § 504B.221(a), a landlord who interrupts or causes the interruption of electricity, heat, gas or water service owes treble damages or $500, whichever is greater, and reasonable attorney's fees. The recovery falls to actual damages if the tenant gave no notice, or if the landlord restored service or made a good faith effort within a reasonable period after notice. A repair or safety interruption remedied within a reasonable period gets the same treatment.
“the utility bill prorations”
Prorations settle what you owe; they do not widen what a Minneapolis owner may do over a dispute about them. Minneapolis Code § 244.590(a) bars an owner or operator from causing a service the housing maintenance code requires “to be removed, shut off, or discontinued” in an occupied unit, outside temporary interruptions during actual repairs. Where the owner pays the water bill, § 244.1910(18) says the owner “shall not allow the water to be shut off for non-payment”, and a shutoff for the owner's nonpayment is grounds to act against the rental license.
A promise to show you the bill later is not disclosure. The Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed. The addendum allocated the building's gas bill by share of rentable square footage and its water and sewer bill equally among the units - that is the court's own description of the formula, not the lease's words - and it promised the actual bill on request. That did not satisfy Minn. Stat. § 504B.215, subd. 2a(1), which requires the landlord of a single-metered residential building that bills utilities separately from rent to give prospective tenants, before they sign, the total utility cost for the whole building for each month of the most recent calendar year. A leasing agent's statement that the tenant's own unit averaged $60 to $80 a month was insufficient, and disclosure after signing was irrelevant. Her actual charges ran $168.18 for December 2007, $171.39 for January 2008 and $170.67 for February 2008. The court also held that the treble-damages remedy in § 504B.221(a) does not reach this violation, and remanded for actual damages - a clean win on the rule, and a much smaller one on the money.
One court, one lease, one state. That answer is not automatically yours, and your lease may be worded to land differently. Use this to know what to look for and what to ask - your state's tenant hotline or a local tenant attorney can answer it for your document.
Minnesota Law on Utilities Clause
- The $500 is a floor that the tenant's notice protects. Minn. Stat. § 504B.221(a) provides that the tenant "may recover from the landlord treble damages or $500, whichever is greater, and reasonable attorney's fees," and that it is a defense that the interruption resulted from the deliberate or negligent act or omission of the tenant or someone under the tenant's control. The tenant recovers only actual damages if (1) the tenant gave no notice of the interruption, (2) the landlord, after notice and within a reasonable period, reinstated or made a good faith effort to reinstate the service or took other remedial action, or (3) the interruption was to repair or correct faulty or defective equipment or protect the occupants' health and safety, and the service was reinstated, or a good faith effort or other remedial action was made, within a reasonable period.
- An intentional shutoff to force a tenant out is a crime. Minn. Stat. § 504B.225 makes it a misdemeanor to intentionally interrupt or cause the interruption of electrical, heat, gas or water service "with intent to unlawfully remove or exclude the tenant," and presumes that intent once an intentional interruption is shown, with the burden on the landlord to rebut it. The section names no punishment of its own; Minn. Stat. § 609.03(3) provides that for a misdemeanor for which no punishment is otherwise provided a person may be sentenced to not more than 90 days or a fine of not more than $1,000, or both.
- Unpaid utility bills are not a reason to cut service in a shared-metered building. Minn. Stat. § 504B.216, subd. 12(a), provides that "Disconnection of a tenant's utility service by a landlord for the failure to pay utility service charges is prohibited," subdivision 12(g) counts a service or load limiter as a disconnection, subdivision 12(b) requires that where a landlord asserts a tenant owes rent and utilities, the tenant's payments are applied to unpaid rent first, and subdivision 12(f) and subdivision 16 make a violation of subdivision 12 a violation of § 504B.221. Laws 2024, chapter 107, section 10 makes section 504B.216 effective January 1, 2025, for leases entered into or renewed on or after that date.
- The lease cannot sign these rights away. Sections 504B.221(b) and 504B.225 each provide that any oral or written lease provision by which the tenant waives the section "is contrary to public policy and void," that the remedies are in addition to other rights, and that the section also reaches occupants after a mortgage foreclosure or contract for deed cancellation once the redemption or reinstatement period has expired. A lockout has a parallel remedy: under Minn. Stat. § 504B.231(a), a tenant unlawfully and in bad faith removed, excluded or forcibly kept out may recover treble damages or $500, whichever is greater, and reasonable attorney's fees.
Sources include Minn. Stat. § 504B.221; Minn. Stat. § 504B.225; Minn. Stat. § 609.03; Minn. Stat. § 504B.216, subd. 12; Minn. Stat. § 504B.216, subd. 16; Minn. Stat. § 504B.231; Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 244.590; Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 244.1910(18); Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 244.270 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Minnesota prices a shutoff in the tenant's favor and then makes the tenant's notice part of the price. Minn. Stat. § 504B.221(a) covers a landlord, an agent or a person acting under the landlord's direction or control who interrupts or causes the interruption of electricity, heat, gas or water service to the tenant.
The tenant "may recover from the landlord treble damages or $500, whichever is greater, and reasonable attorney's fees."
The same paragraph says when the recovery drops to actual damages. That happens if the tenant gave the landlord no notice of the interruption, or if the landlord, after notice and within a reasonable period, reinstated or made a good faith effort to reinstate the service or took other remedial action.
It also happens where the interruption was to repair faulty equipment or protect the occupants' health and safety, and service was restored, or a good faith effort or other remedial action made, within a reasonable period.
It is a defense that the interruption resulted from the deliberate or negligent act or omission of the tenant or someone under the tenant's control. Under § 504B.221(b), the remedies are in addition to other rights, and any lease provision waiving the section "is contrary to public policy and void."
A shutoff meant to force a tenant out is also a crime. § 504B.225 makes it a misdemeanor to intentionally interrupt electrical, heat, gas or water service "with intent to unlawfully remove or exclude the tenant". Once an intentional interruption is shown, that intent is presumed and the landlord must rebut it.
The section names no punishment of its own, and § 609.03(3) allows up to 90 days or a fine of up to $1,000, or both.
Shared-metered buildings have their own rule. § 504B.216, subd. 12(a) says: "Disconnection of a tenant's utility service by a landlord for the failure to pay utility service charges is prohibited." Subdivision 12(g) counts a service or load limiter as a disconnection, and where a landlord says a tenant owes rent and utilities, subdivision 12(b) applies the tenant's payments to unpaid rent first.
Under subdivision 12(f) and subdivision 16, a violation is a violation of § 504B.221. The section covers leases entered into or renewed on or after January 1, 2025.
A lockout has a parallel remedy. Under § 504B.231(a), a tenant unlawfully and in bad faith removed, excluded or forcibly kept out may recover treble damages or $500, whichever is greater, and reasonable attorney's fees.
Minnesota Tenant Protections
Minn. Stat. § 504B.221(a) covers a landlord, an agent or other person acting under the landlord's direction or control who interrupts or causes the interruption of electricity, heat, gas or water services to the tenant. The tenant may recover treble damages or $500, whichever is greater, and reasonable attorney's fees.
The tenant recovers actual damages instead if the tenant gave no notice of the interruption, or if the landlord reinstated or made a good faith effort to reinstate service or took other remedial action within a reasonable period after notice. The same applies where the interruption was for repairs or health and safety and was remedied within a reasonable period.
It is a defense that the tenant or someone under the tenant's control caused the interruption.
Under § 504B.221(b) and § 504B.225, a lease provision waiving either section is void. Section 504B.225 makes an intentional interruption meant to unlawfully remove or exclude the tenant a misdemeanor, and § 609.03(3) allows up to 90 days or a fine of up to $1,000, or both.
In a shared-metered building, § 504B.216, subd. 12 prohibits a landlord from disconnecting a tenant for failure to pay utility charges, for leases entered into or renewed on or after January 1, 2025. In Minneapolis, § 244.590(a) bars an owner or operator from shutting off a service the housing maintenance code requires, except temporarily during actual repairs, and § 244.270 requires written notice of who pays each utility before a unit is let.
What's Specific to Minneapolis
Figures are the state rule, or the stronger city ordinance where one exists. Verify the current law for your own situation before relying on it.
Minneapolis writes its own shutoff ban into the housing title of its code. On the city side, our record read Title 12 (Housing) of the Minneapolis Code of Ordinances on Municode in full, Supplement 73, Update 1, codified through Ordinance No. 2026-020, adopted June 25, 2026.
§ 244.590(a) says no owner or operator shall cause any service, facility, equipment or utility the housing maintenance code requires "to be removed, shut off, or discontinued" in an occupied dwelling unit. The exception is "such temporary interruption as may be necessary while actual repairs, replacements or alterations are in process of being made."
Our record of Title 12 finds no sum payable to the tenant for a shutoff. The dollar figures in § 244.590(b) are administrative fees charged to the bill payer.
One is $50.00 where water service has been shut off for 48 hours, and an additional $100.00 applies where the property is placarded with a letter of intent to condemn for lack of utilities after the water shutoff. Neither is money paid to a tenant, and the tenant's recovery comes from the state statute set out above.
A Minneapolis tenant whose water is cut therefore has two texts to read side by side: the city's ban and fees, and the state's damages.
Water has a licensing rule as well. Under § 244.1910(18), an owner who pays the water bill for a rental dwelling "shall not allow the water to be shut off for non-payment." A shutoff for the owner's nonpayment is sufficient grounds to deny, revoke, suspend or refuse to renew a rental license.
The bill payer has to be named before you move in. § 244.270 requires written notice of who pays each utility before a unit is let. Where there is no separate meter accurately measuring the unit's electricity, gas or water, the owner must contract with the utility and be the bill payer and customer of record.
For a renter, two habits follow from this. Read the § 244.270 notice against your lease, because a service with no separate meter for your unit is one the owner must carry in the owner's own name.
And if a service stops, tell the landlord and keep a record of when, because the state's $500 floor depends on that notice.
The city code keeps moving. Municode listed two adopted ordinances not yet codified, Nos. 2026-024 and 2026-025, which concern liquor premises dress codes and dangerous animals. Read the current code, and anything adopted since, before you quote it to your landlord.
Minneapolis § 244.270 requires written notice of the bill payer for each utility before a unit is let. Where there is no separate meter, the owner must be the bill payer and customer of record.
§ 504B.221(a) turns on notice and on restoring service within a reasonable period. A clause that commits to fast repair once you report a problem puts that timing in writing.
In a shared-metered building, § 504B.216, subd. 12(a) prohibits disconnection for failure to pay utility charges, and subdivision 12(g) counts a load limiter as a disconnection.
§ 504B.221(b) makes any lease provision waiving the section "contrary to public policy and void".
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- Minn. Stat. § 504B.221; Minn. Stat. § 504B.225; Minn. Stat. § 609.03; Minn. Stat. § 504B.216, subd. 12; Minn. Stat. § 504B.216, subd. 16; Minn. Stat. § 504B.231; Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 244.590; Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 244.1910(18); Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 244.270, read on revisor.mn.gov. The Minnesota Revisor of Statutes prints § 504B.221 in the 2025 Minnesota Statutes, with a History line showing its 1999 enactment and no later amendment.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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A shutoff reserved for late payment
A landlord who interrupts electricity, heat, gas or water service faces treble damages or $500, whichever is greater, under § 504B.221(a), and a lease waiver of that is void.
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A load limiter on your service
In a shared-metered building, § 504B.216, subd. 12(g) counts a service or load limiter as a disconnection, which subdivision 12(a) prohibits for unpaid utility charges.
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Rent payments credited to utilities first
Where a landlord says you owe rent and utilities, § 504B.216, subd. 12(b) applies your payments to unpaid rent first.
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A repair outage that keeps running
§ 244.590(a) allows a temporary interruption while actual repairs are being made, and § 504B.221(a) looks for service restored within a reasonable period.
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No word on who pays which bill
Minneapolis § 244.270 requires written notice of the bill payer for each utility before a unit is let, and makes the owner the customer of record where a service has no separate meter.
Your Rights as a Minneapolis Tenant
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Treble damages or $500
§ 504B.221(a) gives the greater of treble damages or $500, plus reasonable attorney's fees, for a landlord's interruption of electricity, heat, gas or water service.
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No cutoff for unpaid utility charges
In a shared-metered building, § 504B.216, subd. 12(a) prohibits disconnection for failure to pay utility charges, for leases entered into or renewed on or after January 1, 2025.
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A right the lease cannot remove
§ 504B.221(b) and § 504B.225 make any lease provision waiving them "contrary to public policy and void".
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A city ban on cutting required services
Minneapolis § 244.590(a) bars an owner or operator from shutting off a service the housing maintenance code requires, outside temporary interruptions during actual repairs.
What To Do - Step by Step
Tell the landlord the service is off
Without notice, § 504B.221(a) limits you to actual damages. Note the day, time and way you told the landlord, and keep any reply.
Note when it stopped and when it returned
Photograph the thermostat, tap or meter. Whether service came back within a reasonable period decides between actual damages and treble damages or $500.
Find out who asked for the cut
Call the utility. A cut on the landlord's request points to § 504B.221. A water shutoff for the owner's unpaid bill points to Minneapolis § 244.1910(18) and the owner's rental license.
Check how the building is metered
In a shared-metered building, § 504B.216, subd. 12 bars a landlord's disconnection for unpaid utility charges. Where your unit has no separate meter, § 244.270 makes the owner the customer of record.
Price what the outage cost you
Keep the bills for anything the outage forced on you. Three times that total is set against the $500 floor in § 504B.221(a), and the larger figure is the recovery.
Check today's text, then ask for help
Open § 504B.221, § 504B.216 and Minneapolis § 244.590 as they read today. Minnesota legal aid can review the facts and the notice you gave.