'Good Cause' Required to Terminate Lease

A household in Minnesota lived in a tax credit unit under a one-year lease that stated the lease could be terminated upon 60 days' written notice. Before the end of the lease term, the management company sent a notice saying it would not renew the lease, but did not provide any explanation why. When the household didn't move out when the lease expired, the management company evicted it. The household appealed its eviction, claiming the notice was invalid because it didn't specify “good cause” for nonrenewal. But the management company claimed that good cause requirements for nonrenewals did not apply to tax credit sites, except under very limited circumstances, such as when a site's agreement with the state to maintain its low-income status terminates early because a buyer who'll keep the site low-income can't be found. The Minnesota appeals court disagreed with the owner and told the trial court to reconsider the household's eviction. The court said that the management company must have good cause to terminate the household's tenancy at any time during its “extended low-income housing commitment” [Cimarron Village Townhomes, Ltd. v. Washington].