Eden Valley, Minn., Mun. Code Ch. 153 (2026) § 153.08

In order to ensure compliance with this chapter’s requirements, or upon receiving a written, signed complaint, the Compliance Officer shall have the authority to enter any building or manufactured home park at reasonable times upon notice to the landlord and tenant, to determine if the building or manufactured home park is operated as a “rental property” as defined in this chapter or to enforce the Uniform Housing Code, or both.


(A) When scheduling licensing inspections pursuant to this section, the city compliance officer or his or her agents will seek the consent of the owner of the property (if not already received) to inspect those areas outside of rental dwelling units that are not accessible to the general public, such as storage or mechanical rooms) and to unrented dwelling units, and the consent of the primary tenant of the rental dwelling unit (if not already received) to inspect that unit, if the property owner demonstrates to the satisfaction of the city compliance officer or his or her agents that one or more tenants have consented in writing to the inspection of their units, individual contacts by the city with those tenants may be deemed unnecessary.


(B) If the city is unsuccessful in securing consent for an inspection pursuant to this section, the city shall seek permission, from a judicial officer through an administrative warrant, for its enforcement officer or his or her agents to conduct an inspection. Nothing in this chapter shall limit or constrain the authority of the judicial officer to condition or limit the scope of the administrative warrant.


(C) The scope of a licensing inspection shall be limited to what is necessary to determine in accordance with this division (C) whether the unit and its premises conform to this chapter. This shall not preclude the enforcement officer from relying upon observations from a licensing inspection in seeking one or more of the remedies provided in §§ 153.17 and 10.99 .


(D) A licensing inspection must be scheduled during ordinary business hours (or as otherwise arranged with the owner or tenant). Owners and their agents, and tenants, may, at their option, request that licensing inspections above take place only when they are present, so long as the request identifies at least one date or time within the two weeks following the date of the request when the requesting party agrees to be present.


(E) During inspections conducted pursuant to an administrative warrant, photographs and video recordings may not be taken of areas inside the building, absent further court permission or consent of the tenant (for areas inside the unit) or the landlord (for areas inside the building but outside a tenant’s unit, and areas inside an unoccupied unit).


(F) Inspectors are not authorized to open containers, drawers, or medicine cabinets, unless the containers, drawers, or medicine cabinets are opened with the consent of the tenant (for areas inside the unit) or the landlord (for areas inside the building but outside a tenant’s unit, and areas inside an unoccupied unit). For purposes of this division (F), a MEDICINE CABINET is a covered cabinet located above a sink in a dwelling unit’s bathroom.


(G) Inspectors are authorized to open cabinets (other than medicine cabinets) or closets only when because of their location, those closets or cabinets, when unopened, appear to contain one or more water or waste water pipes, or fuses, or exposed electrical wiring, and it is reasonably necessary in order to inspect for the existence of one or more conditions that violates this chapter, or when the cabinets or closets are opened with the consent of the tenant (for areas inside the unit) or the landlord (for areas inside the building but outside a tenant’s unit, and areas inside an unoccupied unit).


(H) The information regarding the condition of the unit or its occupants that inspectors retain after recording it in any inspection logs or forms shall be limited to descriptions of conditions constituting a violation of this chapter. Inspectors may record a list of conditions that the landlord or tenant is encouraged to repair or change but which do not constitute a violation of this chapter, if that list is not retained by the inspector or city but is instead simply given to the landlord or tenant.


(Ord. passed 4-6-2016)