Landlord Liens

"The owner of a self-service storage facility has a lien against the occupant on the personal property stored under a rental agreement in a storage space at the self-service storage facility or the proceeds of the property. Minn. Stat. §514.972

A person leasing real property for agricultural production has a lien for unpaid rent on the crops produced on the real property in the crop year that is the subject of the lease. Minn. Stat. §514.963.

If a landlord chooses to remove property from the premises and store it in another location, a lien may be authorized on the property for reasonable costs for removal and storage of the property, which may be enforced by execution and public sale. Minn. Stat. §504B.365.

As against a lessor, no lien is given for repairs made by or at the instance of the lessee. Minn. Stat. §514.06

Goods are ""fixtures"" when they become so related to particular real estate that an interest in them arises under real estate law. Minn. Stat. §336.2A-309"

"An exception to the general rule occurs where a tenant abandons property. A landlord has two distinct remedies if a tenant abandons personal property after eviction. See, Conseco Loan Finance Co., v. Boswell, 687 N.W.2d 646, 650 (Minn.App. 2004). If a landlord chooses to remove property from the premises and store it in another location, Minn. Stat. § 504B.365 authorizes a lien on the property for reasonable costs for removal and storage of the property, which may be enforced by execution and public sale. If a landlord elects to store the property on the premises, Minn. Stat. §504B.365, read in conjunction with Minn. Stat. §504B.271, provides that the landlord has a claim, rather than a lien, against the tenant for reasonable costs and expenses incurred in storing and caring for the property. NOTE: Where the landlord has elected to store the personal property on the rental premises (Minn. Stat. §504B.271) and there is a perfected secured interest in that personal property, the UCC applies to establish the priority of the secured interest over the landlord's claim. See, Conseco, 687 N.W.2d at 651. However, if possession is taken under Minn. Stat. §504B.365 and the landlord has a lien, that lien may meet the requirements of a Minn. Stat. §336.9-333 possessory lien and have a priority over a perfected security interest.

Fixtures, attached for trade purposes, may be removed; however, they ordinarily must be removed before the lease expires. Central Chrysler Plymouth, Inc., v. Holt, 266 N.W.2d 177 (Minn. 1978)."

A lessee is not generally considered an agent of the lessor within the contemplation of the mechanic's lien statutes merely by relation of landlord and tenant. Nor is an agency relationship created merely by the consent of the lessor to the making of alternations and improvements upon the leased premises. Master Asphalt Co., v. Voss Construction Co., of Minneapolis, 535 N.W.2d 349 (Minn. 1995). A landowner must have actual knowledge of improvements to his or her property which is more than a general awareness on the part of the landowner that improvements to the property are contemplated by the tenant. Id.