Minn. Stat. § 504B.285, subd. 1(a) allows a landlord to file an eviction action against a tenant for nonpayment of rent, breach of lease, holding over past the end of a lease, or holding over past a valid notice to quit. Minn. Stat. § 504B.291, subd. 1(a) amplifies the basis to evict for non payment. Thousands of these cases are filed each year by Minnesota landlords. However, a few landlords want to oust tenants for other reasons – such as the fact that the landlord has no rental license – and try using Minn. Stat. § 504B.301 instead, figuring it is a catchall statute to evict tenants. As this PDF essay shows, Minn. Stat. § 504B.301 is not a vehicle to evict tenants other than for possession of large amounts of contraband. Instead, Minn. Stat. § 504B.301 is a vehicle for evicting squatters and other persons who entered the premises illegally on Day One.
The essay is also available in Word. The Word version of the essay includes links to several products of my legal research. Three of these products, not available elsewhere, are available here as Appendix 1, Appendix 2 (pretty large file, 6 MB), and Appendix 3 (large file, 30 MB).
Minor update 7/8/2021: New Appendix 4 consists of copies of the briefs in Berg v. Wiley I, 303 Minn. 247, 226 N.W.2d 904 (1975). These shed a bit more light on the meaning of Minn. Stat. § 504B.301, although nothing dramatically new.
Birnberg Minnesota Legislative Newsletter 