Minnesota landlord guide — Granite Falls, Canby, Clarkfield, southwest Minnesota prairie, Yellow Medicine River, small rural ag county & Minn. Stat. Ch. 504B
Landlord-Tenant Law in Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota
Yellow Medicine County is a small, agricultural county in southwest Minnesota along the Yellow Medicine River, named for the yellow-rooted plants that Dakota people used medicinally and that the river was named for long before Euro-American settlement. Its approximately 10,000 residents are concentrated in Granite Falls (the county seat, population roughly 2,700), Canby (~1,700), and Clarkfield (~850), with the remainder in small townships and rural areas spread across the county’s productive corn and soybean farmland. Granite Falls holds a significant place in Minnesota history as the site of the Upper Sioux Agency — one of the Dakota agencies that was central to the events of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 — and the nearby Upper Sioux Community (Pezihutazizi Oyate) maintains a reservation and community that is an active part of the county’s current life. The Granite Falls area also has a notable renewable energy history — the Minnesota Valley Breezy Point wind farm and local ethanol production have made the region a southwest Minnesota renewable energy hub. The economy is defined by agriculture (corn, soybeans, hogs) supplemented by Granite Falls Municipal Utilities, county government, the school district, local healthcare (Avera Granite Falls Hospital), and modest retail. The rental market is very small and serves county seat employees, healthcare workers, school district staff, and agricultural professionals at the lower end of the Minnesota rent spectrum.
All residential landlord-tenant matters in Yellow Medicine County are governed by Minn. Stat. Ch. 504B. Eviction actions are filed at the Yellow Medicine County District Court in Granite Falls. Minnesota has no statewide rent control and no just-cause eviction requirement. No Yellow Medicine County municipality has enacted a local rent stabilization ordinance. The Upper Sioux Community reservation land is subject to tribal jurisdiction for matters on tribal trust land; off-reservation rental properties in the county follow state law normally.
Corn & soybean agriculture, Avera Granite Falls Hospital, ethanol production, wind energy, county government, school districts, Upper Sioux Community
Rent Control
None (no statewide or local ordinance)
Landlord Rating
3/10 — very small rural market; lowest rents in MN; stable but extremely limited demand; historic significance; patient buy-and-hold only
⚖️ Eviction At-a-Glance
Nonpayment Notice
14-Day Pay or Vacate
Lease Violation
Reasonable time to cure
No-Cause (Month-to-Month)
One full rental period written notice (≥30 days)
Court
Yellow Medicine County District Court, Granite Falls
Process Name
Eviction (Unlawful Detainer)
Post-Judgment Move-Out
As ordered by court; writ issued after judgment
Avg Timeline
3–6 weeks (uncontested)
Yellow Medicine County Local Ordinances
County and municipal rules that apply alongside Minnesota state law
Category
Details
Rental Registration
No county-wide rental registration or landlord licensing in Yellow Medicine County. No municipality has enacted a formal rental inspection program. Pre-1978 properties require federal lead paint disclosure under 42 U.S.C. §4852d; older housing stock in Granite Falls and Canby makes this routine compliance for many rentals.
Rent Control
None. No Yellow Medicine County municipality has enacted rent stabilization. Minnesota has no statewide rent control statute.
Security Deposit
No statutory cap in Minnesota. Minn. Stat. §504B.178 requires return within 21 days after tenancy ends and landlord receives forwarding address. Itemized deductions required. Annual interest at MN Dept. of Commerce rate. Wrongful withholding: up to 2× damages plus attorney’s fees.
Landlord Entry
Minimum 24 hours’ advance notice for non-emergency entry under Minn. Stat. §504B.195. Emergency entry permitted without notice.
Granite Falls, Upper Sioux & County Economy
Granite Falls is the county seat and largest community, situated at the falls of the Minnesota River where the Yellow Medicine River joins it — a geologically significant site where the Minnesota River cuts through exposed Precambrian gneiss that is among the oldest exposed rock in North America, estimated at 3.6 billion years old. The Upper Sioux Agency State Park, just south of Granite Falls, commemorates the site of the Dakota agency and the events of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, which began in this region with profound and lasting consequences for both Dakota people and Minnesota settlers. The Upper Sioux Community (Pezihutazizi Oyate), descended from Dakota people who remained in Minnesota after the war, maintains a reservation and community near Granite Falls that is an active cultural, governmental, and economic presence in the county. Avera Granite Falls Hospital provides regional healthcare and is the county seat’s primary professional employer. The Yellow Medicine County area has been a leader in renewable energy for southwestern Minnesota — wind turbines visible across the county’s flat prairie and an ethanol production facility represent the energy economy alongside traditional grain agriculture. Canby, in the county’s western tier, serves as the commercial hub for the western part of the county near the South Dakota border.
Just-Cause Eviction
No just-cause requirement in Yellow Medicine County or any of its municipalities. Month-to-month tenancies may be terminated with one full rental period’s written notice (§504B.135). Minneapolis’ just-cause ordinance does not apply.
Minn. Stat. Ch. 504B statutes, notice requirements, and landlord rights that apply in Yellow Medicine County
⚡ Quick Overview
14
Days Notice (Nonpayment)
Varies - reasonable cure period; immediate for illegal activity
Days Notice (Violation)
21-90
Avg Total Days
$$285-320
Filing Fee (Approx)
💰 Nonpayment of Rent
Notice Type14-Day Notice to Pay or Quit
Notice Period14 days
Tenant Can Cure?Yes - tenant can pay all rent within 14 days to stop eviction
Days to Hearing7-14 days
Days to WritImmediate after judgment (24 hours to vacate) days
Total Estimated Timeline21-90 days
Total Estimated Cost$400-800
⚠️ Watch Out
CRITICAL (2024): 14-day notice must include specific accounting of total due (rent; late fees; other charges); landlord contact info; statement that tenant has right to seek legal help and emergency rental assistance; information about financial/legal resources. Court MUST dismiss and expunge case if notice is deficient. Tenant can 'redeem tenancy' by paying all rent owed plus court costs before sheriff executes writ. Eviction records sealed from public until final judgment entered. For leases over 20 years: 30-day notice required. 2025 change: landlord must also send court papers electronically if regularly communicates with tenant electronically.
Serve the required notice based on the eviction reason (nonpayment or lease violation).
Wait for the notice period to expire. If tenant cures the issue (where allowed), the process stops.
File an eviction case with the District Court or Housing Court (Hennepin/Ramsey Counties). Pay the filing fee (~$$285-320).
Tenant is served with a summons and has the opportunity to respond.
Attend the court hearing and present your case.
If you prevail, obtain a writ of possession from the court.
Law enforcement executes the writ and removes the tenant if necessary.
⚠️ Disclaimer: This page provides general information about Minnesota eviction laws and does not constitute legal advice.
Eviction procedures can vary by county and may change over time. Local jurisdictions may have additional requirements or tenant protections.
For specific legal guidance, consult a qualified Minnesota attorney or local legal aid organization.
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AI-generated, state-specific eviction notices, pay-or-quit letters, lease termination documents, and more — pre-filled with your tenant's information and built to Minnesota requirements.
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⚠️ Disclaimer: These calculations are estimates based on state statutes and typical court timelines. Actual results vary by county, court backlog, and case specifics. Always verify current requirements with your local courthouse. This is not legal advice.
Granite Falls (county seat, oldest exposed rock in N. America, Upper Sioux Agency, Avera Hospital, wind/ethanol energy), Canby, Clarkfield, Dawson. SW MN prairie. No rent control, 14-day pay or vacate.
Yellow Medicine County
Screen Before You Sign
Avera hospital staff, county and school employees, and energy sector workers are your most stable profiles. In one of Minnesota’s smallest rental markets, every tenant decision matters enormously — screen thoroughly and invest in relationships that keep good tenants long-term.
A Landlord’s Guide to Renting in Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota
Yellow Medicine County closes out the alphabetical list of Minnesota counties with a place that rewards the curious. It is a small agricultural county in the southwest corner of the state where the land is old beyond reckoning, the history is layered and consequential, and the present is shaped by farming, renewable energy, and the living presence of a Dakota community that never left. For landlords, it is a micro-market defined by patience and relationship — the kind of place where knowing your tenants and keeping them is more important than any other single factor in the success of a rental investment.
The Oldest Rock, the Oldest History
Near Granite Falls, the Minnesota River has cut down through billions of years of geological time to expose Morton Gneiss — metamorphic rock estimated at 3.6 billion years old, among the oldest exposed rock formations on the surface of the Earth. The falls themselves, where the river drops over this ancient rock, are the geographic feature that gave the county seat its name and the landscape a distinctive character amid the surrounding flat prairie. The geological timeline exposed at Granite Falls is humbling in the most literal sense.
The human history layered over this ancient geology is no less significant. The Upper Sioux Agency, established in 1853 along the Minnesota River just south of present-day Granite Falls, was one of two Dakota agencies created under treaties that stripped Dakota people of most of their land in Minnesota. The agency became one of the flashpoints of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 — a six-week conflict that resulted in the largest mass execution in American history (38 Dakota men hanged in Mankato on December 26, 1862), the forced exile of most Dakota people from Minnesota, and consequences that reverberate through Dakota communities and Minnesota history to this day. The Upper Sioux Agency State Park preserves and interprets this history on the ground where it occurred.
The Upper Sioux Community Today
The Upper Sioux Community (Pezihutazizi Oyate — People of the Yellow Medicine) is a federally recognized Dakota tribal nation whose members are descendants of people who remained in or returned to Minnesota after the 1862 war and its aftermath. The community maintains a reservation near Granite Falls with tribal government, social services, Firefly Creek Casino, and cultural programs that make it an active and present community in Yellow Medicine County life. Landlords operating near the reservation should be aware that properties on tribal trust land are subject to tribal jurisdiction, not Minnesota state law — this applies only to trust land itself, not to off-reservation properties throughout the county.
Renewable Energy and Agriculture
Yellow Medicine County has leaned into renewable energy in ways that distinguish it from comparable agricultural counties. Wind turbines visible across the county’s flat prairie generate electricity as part of the broader southwest Minnesota wind belt, and an ethanol production facility processes local corn into fuel ethanol. These energy operations provide employment and additional economic activity beyond the corn and soybean farming that defines the county’s agricultural base. For landlords, energy sector workers — turbine technicians, plant operators — represent a small but stable rental demographic supplement to the county seat’s government and healthcare workforce.
State Law: Applies in Full
Yellow Medicine County has no local landlord-tenant ordinances. Minn. Stat. Ch. 504B governs entirely for all off-reservation residential properties: 14-Day Pay or Vacate for nonpayment (§504B.285); security deposit return within 21 days, 2x damages for wrongful retention (§504B.178); 24-hour entry notice (§504B.195); 68°F minimum heat October through April; no rent control; no just-cause eviction; self-help eviction illegal (§504B.375). All evictions go to Yellow Medicine County District Court in Granite Falls.
Yellow Medicine County landlord-tenant matters are governed by Minn. Stat. Ch. 504B. Nonpayment notice: 14-Day Pay or Vacate (§504B.285). Lease violation: reasonable time to cure. No-cause termination: one full rental period written notice (§504B.135). Security deposit return: 21 days; up to 2× damages for wrongful retention plus attorney’s fees (§504B.178). Security deposit interest required annually at MN Dept. of Commerce rate. Landlord entry: 24 hours’ advance notice required (§504B.195). Minimum heat: 68°F, Oct. 1–Apr. 30. No rent control. No just-cause eviction requirement. Eviction actions filed at Yellow Medicine County District Court, Granite Falls. Self-help eviction: illegal, up to $500/day civil penalty + misdemeanor (§504B.375). Fair Housing Act applies. Upper Sioux Community trust lands subject to tribal jurisdiction; off-reservation properties follow state law. Minneapolis just-cause ordinance does not apply. Last updated: April 2026.
Disclaimer: This page provides general information about landlord-tenant law in Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota and is not legal advice. Laws change frequently. Always verify current requirements with a licensed Minnesota attorney before taking legal action. Last updated: April 2026.
