Minnesota's framework (§504B.178) pairs a fast clock and mandatory interest with something newer: statutory initial and move-out inspection rights (§504B.182) whose violation carries its own penalty. It applies statewide, with Minneapolis and St. Paul layering additional tenant protections.
How much can a landlord charge?
No statutory cap — but every deposit earns 1% simple annual interest, computed from the month after payment, owed to the tenant at return. (And a warning for tenants: you may not skip last month's rent "against the deposit" — doing so after written demand triggers a statutory penalty against you.)
The inspection rights
On tenant request, the landlord must provide notice for and complete an initial inspection and a move-out inspection. Refusing carries teeth: a landlord who fails the inspection duties (or the return duties below) is liable for a penalty equal to the amount withheld plus interest, on top of returning the wrongfully withheld amount — withholding doubled, in effect.
The three-week clock
Within three weeks of tenancy ending and receipt of the tenant's mailing address (five days if the building is condemned), the landlord must return the deposit with interest or a written statement of the specific reasons for withholding. Lawful withholdings: unpaid rent and restoring the unit to move-in condition, ordinary wear and tear excepted.
The penalties, stacked
Beyond the doubling above, bad-faith retention adds punitive damages of up to $500, and Conciliation Court (up to $15,000 — one of the highest small-claims limits in the country) makes enforcement cheap and lawyer-free.
Why Minnesota deposit disputes are documentation disputes
Minnesota just wrote inspections into law for the same reason every state converges here: condition evidence decides these cases. But inspections produce notes and memories; three weeks later, the withholding statement says "wall damage" and the argument begins.
SealMove ends it before it starts. Every photo and video is cryptographically sealed the instant it's captured, independently timestamped, and locked with Face ID into a tamper-evident archive. Bring it to both statutory inspections; at move-out the walkthrough lines up room-by-room against the sealed baseline — and either party can send the other a report to review and acknowledge, no app required.