How does Minneapolis rent control affect investment properties?

Minneapolis — no cap. Voters approved a charter amendment in 2021 that lets the City Council regulate rent. The Council has never enacted an ordinance. The city has said any future ordinance would go back to the ballot. Rent increases in Minneapolis are set by your lease and the market.

St. Paul — 3% cap. Voters approved rent stabilization in November 2021 and it took effect in May 2022. Rent increases on covered units are capped at 3% in any 12-month period.

What changed in St. Paul, and why your model needs it:

• A January 2023 amendment added vacancy decontrol and exempted income-restricted affordable housing.
• A May 2025 amendment permanently exempted new construction. If the building received its first certificate of occupancy after December 31, 2004, the cap doesn't apply to it at all.
• That exemption is permanent now — not the 20-year clock the older rules used. If your underwriting still carries a 20-year expiry, it's wrong.

How I'd underwrite it:

1. Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, Richfield, Bloomington, Robbinsdale — no cap. Model to comps and turnover.
2. St. Paul, first occupied 2005 or later — exempt. Model to market.
3. St. Paul, first occupied 2004 or earlier — model to the 3% cap, and check the city's current exemption process before you write.

Municipal rules move faster than listings do. Send me the address you're looking at and I'll pull the current rules for that parcel before you write an offer.