Rental Housing Licensing and Inspection Program
The focus of the Rental Licensing and Inspection Program is to maintain the quality and stability of rental dwelling units which will preserve the value of land and buildings throughout Bloomington. Rental housing conditions that adversely affect or are likely to adversely affect the life, safety, general welfare, and health of renters can be corrected and prevented by enforcing minimum standards within the city.
The Rental Housing program licenses many types of rental dwelling units including:
- Single-family homes
- Townhouses
- Condominiums
- Duplexes
- Multi-family buildings and units
- Accessory dwelling units
- Group Housing (excluding State-licensed group homes with six or fewer tenants)
Environmental Health inspectors conduct new rental license inspections and inspect all other rental properties within Bloomington annually. They also respond to complaints and systematically inspect the exterior of rental properties throughout the year. Additionally, at least 10% of all multi-family dwelling units are inspected each year.
There are some cases where a rental license will not be required. The following situations are exceptions to the requirement for a rental license:
- Owner-occupied homes
- Owner-occupied dwelling units within a cooperative, condominium, or townhouse building
- Dwelling units occupied by a qualifying relative occupant for homestead purposes in the county
- Rooms rented with the owner or qualifying relative occupant resides in the single-family dwelling
- Lodging establishments such as hotels, motels, dormitories, and bed and breakfasts
- Hospitals and nursing homes (as licensed under M.S. Chapter 144A or §§ 144.50 to 144.56)
- The city jail, parsonages, parish houses, nunneries, monasteries, manses, and rectories
- Residential property that has been sold for contract for deed if the buyer occupies the property and the sale document used to memorialize the sale is a Minnesota uniform conveyancing blank or is recorded with the County Recorder's office and a copy is provided to the city upon request
- Group housing having a licensed capacity of six or fewer individuals
Step 1: Verify Ownership
If the property was recently purchased, confirm your ownership on the Hennepin County website. City Code requires a rental license be held by the owner of the property.
It can take time after closing for Hennepin County to update ownership. If your property information has not been updated, please contact the Hennepin County Recorder's Office at 612-348-5139.
If your rental property is associated with a business, the business must be registered and active with the Minnesota Secretary of State. Verify at the Secretary of State website.
Step 2: Apply for License and Make Payment
You must submit your license application and pay the fee prior to scheduling an inspection.
Per City Code, “For all initial applicants, if the rental license is not issued within 60 calendar days of the date that both the rental license application and license fee is received, the application will be cancelled. Therefore, the applicant must reapply by completing the license application again and paying the required license fee and any additional fees if applicable”.
Step 3: Schedule and Pass a Rental Inspection
Review the Pre-Inspection Checklist to see the items that our inspectors will be evaluating.
Contact the Environmental Health division at 952-563-8934 or envhealth@bloomingtonmn.gov to schedule your inspection. If you have applied in-person, we are available to schedule an inspection appointment during your visit.
As a reminder, renting the property cannot occur until a license is issued.
Complete and submit the rental application to the Business Licensing Division.
You may submit the completed application and fee payment one of three ways:
- Mail the application with payment to: Bloomington Business Licensing, 1800 W Old Shakopee Road, Bloomington, MN 55431.
- Email your application to businesslicensing@bloomingtonmn.gov. Call the Business Licensing Department at 952-563-8728 to pay for the associated fee with a credit card over the telephone.
- Drop off the application in person at the City Clerk counter on the first floor of Bloomington Civic Plaza (1800 W Old Shakopee Road, Bloomington, MN 55431).
Pre-Inspection Checklist
Most common violations noted at a rental inspection
• Missing or inoperable smoke alarms
• Missing or inoperable carbon monoxide alarms
• Missing outlet covers
• Gas stove burners that do not ignite
• Missing latch style deadbolt locks on doors that lead to exterior
• Escape windows in sleeping rooms that are inoperable or blocked
Interior
Walls and Ceilings
- Clean and good repair
- No loose wallpaper
- No loose plaster
- No peeling paint
- No holes
Floors
- Clean and good repair
- Structurally sound
- No torn floor covering
- Carpets secure to floor and in good repair
Windows
- Clean and good repair
- No broken or cracked glass
- Tight fitting screens on all openable windows with no holes or tears
- Working hardware so windows are easily openable and stay open on their own
- Weather tight
- Top sash does not come down when window is unlocked or opened
- Approved locking mechanisms required on all first level and below windows
- Windowsills clean of debris
- No peeling, flaking or chipped paint – recommend to NOT paint windows
- Window cranks must be in place and operable
- Proper window dimensions (except for windows that were approved at time of construction):
- Sill height not more than 44” above floor
- Openable area not less than 5.7 square feet (may be reduced depending on age of home)
- Opening height not less than 24”
- Opening width not less than 20”
- Egress wells must be 3 feet wide by 3 feet long
- Egress ladders required if well is deeper than 44”
Doors
- Clean and good repair
- Doors locks tightly secure door when closed
- Weather tight
- Approved locking mechanisms required on all doors that lead to the exterior, including 2nd story and above decks that are accessible.Must have latch-type deadbolt locks with a lock throw of not less than 1 inch on all doors that lead to the exterior.Keyed deadbolts on inside are not allowed.
- Door closers for screen doors
Plumbing
- Must have hot (minimum of 110dF) and cold running water
- No water leaks in plumbing drains, supply lines or faucets
- All plumbing drain lines must be rigid – flexible not approved
- All fixtures must be hard plumbed – except condensate line and washing machine
- Bathtub or shower, bath sink, toilet and kitchen sink provided
- Water heaters must have temperature/pressure relief valve
- Water heaters must have overflow spill pipe within 18 inches of the floor
- Plumbing must be directly connected to sanitary sewer
- Sump pumps drain must be discharged to yard area not to sewer
- Toilets must have an anti-siphon ballcock inside the tank
Electrical/Lighting
- Electrical outlets/switches/junction boxes must have covers
- Cable and phone lines must have covers
- All open wires must be capped
- Two outlets provided in all habitable rooms
- Outlet is provided in bathrooms, recommend GFCI
- Lights provided in halls, stairs, bathrooms, kitchen, laundry rooms and furnace rooms
- Lights are sufficient and operable with covers in place
- All major appliances must have direct electrical connections – extension cords and outlet adapters are not approved
- Electrical service must be grounded
- Water meters must be grounded
- Service panels must have approved covers
- No open gaps/holes in circuit breaker/fuse box
- All circuits/fuses must be labeled
Ventilation/Heat/Gas
- All dryers must be vented with rigid or flexible aluminum material
- Flues must have a fire stop where it penetrates the floor or wall
- Flues must not have any uncovered holes or be badly rusted and be securely attached
- Flues must slope up
- Bathrooms with showers/tub must have an openable window or mechanical ventilation
- Must provide heat at a minimum of 680F at all times
- All gas lines must be approved materials, and an operable shut-off valve must be present
- Unused gas lines must be properly capped
- All vent covers must be secure and operable
Fire
- Smoke alarms are required in the corridor outside every bedroom, and a minimum of one (1) on each level
- The top of the smoke alarms mounted on walls must be mounted a minimum of 4 inches and maximum of 12 inches from ceilings and if mounted on ceilings, must be mounted a minimum of 4 inches from walls
- Carbon Monoxide alarm required within 10 ft outside all sleeping rooms
- Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms must be testable
- Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms can be battery powered
- All sleeping rooms must have an escape window or door leading directly to the outside – exception for fully sprinkled units
General
- All appliances (stove, refrigerator, furnace, water heater, etc.) must be in good repair
- All gas stove burners must self-ignite
- Floor drains must not be clogged, and water must be in the trap
- Each bedroom should have an area of not less than 70 square feet.Where more than two people occupy a room used for sleeping purposes, the required floor areas shall be increased at the rate of 50 square feet for each occupant in excess of two.
Stairways
- Guardrails or finished walls required on open-side stairways above 30 inches
- Guardrails must be a minimum of 30 inches high
- Handrails are required when there are more than 4 risers
- Handrail height is 30-42 inches
- Guardrail and handrail must be in good repair and firmly attached
- All stairs must be in good repair and secure
Exterior
General
- No holes or large cracks in foundation
- Soffit, fascia, siding in good repair
- Exterior surfaces protected from elements
- House numbers visible from public street – minimum four (4) inches tall, ½ inch wide, contrasting color
- No peeling, flaking or chipped paint on any exterior surface
- Shingles in good repair, trees must be trimmed back from roof
- Roof free of leaks
- A/C coil, gas line, electrical line penetrations, etc., - caulked
- Gutters/downspouts in good condition and free of debris
- Chimney tuck pointing/mortar in good repair
- Porch and deck in good repair and up to code (i.e., guard railings, decking, supports, stairs, etc.)
- Handrails required at more than four (4) risers
- Garages and sheds are in good repair and no peeling paint
- Garage door opener has direct electrical connection (i.e., no extension cord)
- Garage door provided and in good repair
- Electrical outlets/light/junction boxes have covers
- Grass and weeds cut and maintained
- Surface graded for drainage away from foundation
- No litter in yard
- No parking on grass
- No abandoned vehicles, car parts, tires, vehicle batteries, construction debris, etc.
- No more than 4 vehicles parked/stored outside of garage
- Fencing must be in good repair
- Exterior dryer vents are clean
- Maintain window wells free from debris
- All wires a minimum of 10 feet above grade
Garbage and Recycling
- Must have trash service
- Must be kept in approved containers with tight fitting lids
- Lids must be closed
- Containers must not overflow
- Appliances for removal must have the doors removed
Note: List not intended to be all inclusive as requirements can change.
Transient lodging is defined and prohibited by the City Code.
Transient Lodging. The lease, license or other agreement for the occupancy, possession or tenancy of a dwelling unit, or portion thereof, where the actual term of occupancy, possession, or tenancy is less than 30 consecutive calendar days including, but not limited to bed and breakfasts, resorts, vacation homes, crash pads, hostels, and the like.
No person is allowed to lease, license or agree to allow the use of a dwelling unit, or portion thereof, for transient lodging.
The City wants to maintain the quality of life in our neighborhoods. Learn more about filing a residential, commercial, or rental property complaint.
For questions regarding rental inspections or code enforcement, please contact the Environmental Health Division at 952-563-8934, or email envhealth@bloomingtonmn.gov.
Rental Housing Requirements may be found in Chapter 14 of the Bloomington City Code.
For questions related to the City Code, please call Bloomington Environmental Health at 952-563-8934 or email envhealth@bloomingtonmn.gov.
- Minnesota Attorney General's Office, PH: 651-296-3353.
- Minnesota Multi Housing Association
- Hennepin County Courthouse, PH: 952-830-4877
- Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8)
- Healthy Homes Minnesota (MDH)
- Smoke-Free Housing
- Energy Efficiency (City of Bloomington Sustainability)
- Housing Resources (City of Bloomington HRA)