Minneapolis Order to Correct Notices

Because of the large concentration of properties we have in the city, it seems like we are getting Minneapolis Order to Correct Notices almost every week.  I suppose on the surface that sounds bad, like we are some horrible landlord with lots of rental units that are falling down.  Actually, almost of these correction notices are for items related to garbage collection!

Minneapolis has a very strict (understandably so) policy on trash, oversized pieces and debris around the yard.  These issues are one of the most common rental violations in Minneapolis.  There are common issues that we see that cause problems:

• Squirrels love to chew through the trash covers and then remove garbage to eat.  Unless the hole in the cover is fixed, the problem continues to make a mess around the trash area.
• Because most of the trash cans live on the alley in Minneapolis, it is easy for other non-residents to dump stuff in your trash.  I have seen people leave entire bedroom sets overnight at a house that is not their own.
• Tenants can also create issues by waiting until the day they move out to place all their extra furniture by the trash.  While the city of Minneapolis will take 2 larger items every 2 weeks during the recycling week, they will not allow you to have a house worth of furniture just sitting out back.

At Rental Management Guys, we have put some processes into place that help reduce the problem or at least quickly address any trash related issues:

• We have a crew that we can call at a moments notice to haul away excess furniture or items left by a tenant upon move-out.  While this costs us some money, it is cheaper and more polite to the neighborhood to simply haul it away quickly than to leave it sit for recycling day.
• When we receive Order to Correct Notices, we quickly notify the tenant via both email and USPS mail to correct the problem.   As the property manager, we remind them that any fines incurred would be their responsibility.
• On our multi-family units, where is more difficult to identify the cause of the trash problem, we have our cleaning crew monitor the exterior around the trash cans every 2 weeks.  This helps maintain the area from looking poor from an accumulation of misc small trash over time.

Getting an order of correction from the City of Minneapolis for trash problems at your rental property is something to take seriously.  Often these orders have extremely short due dates of 2-3 days.  If you miss the deadline, the fine from the city can results in fines of $100-400 for the city to clean up the issue.  Plus, repeated offenders will have their rental license fees increased as they will move from tier 1 to tier 2 to tier 3 because of the orders.