Starting in 2025, housing renters in Minnesota will have new protections when it comes to organizing.

Tenants can now form unions or associations for improved living conditions without fear of reprisals from their landlords.

Under the new law landlords are prohibited from retaliating against organizations who report code violations, contact the media, or testify in court. Examples laid out in the law include raising rent, decreasing services, or pursuing legal action against tenants.

Back in October, the Duluth Tenant’s Union (DTU) officially launched. Run by TakeAction Minnesota, the union had been in the works since the summer of 2023.

“We really got started in earnest, just knocking as many doors as we could, talking with renters about their anger around dealing with the pressure of making rent becoming increasingly challenging, and then dealing with landlords or situations where their landlords were being unaccountable.” Said DyAnna Grondahl, a senior organizer with DTU.

Grondahl is excited about the new law, calling it “historic.” She hopes that other Minnesota renters organize in light of the new law.

“Duluth Tenants has been the single most life-affirming, community-affirming building experience for me to participate in and meet so many people and build friendships and change what it means to be a neighbor,” Grondahl said, “I hope that folks get to do the same in their communities across the state.”

The full list of new Minnesota laws for 2025 can be found on the state’s website.