Are there any cases in conciliation, mediation or the district appeals court that involved similar circumstances?
I have been researching at the law library but have found nothing. I found two cases that discuss this issue. In a 1989 Minnesota appeals court case, the landlord contracted with the tenant to perform maintenance, but the tenants failed to perform the work. The Court of Appeals held that the landlord had the ultimate responsibility for performing the maintenance. In a 1995 case in Hennepin County District Court, a lease stated that the tenant would provide maintenance service. The court refused to enforce that provision, holding that state law did not permit a landlord and tenant to agree to have the tenant perform maintenance without consideration. Under the law, there should be no “understood” reduction in rent. If there is a rent reduction in return for the agreement to perform maintenance, the lease must clearly spell that out. Otherwise, a court cannot find the required consideration in exchange for the agreement to perform maintenance within the body of the agreement. Minneapolis
