St. Paul, Minnesota: security deposit interest
St. Paul sets no security-deposit interest rate of its own: Chapter 193 of the city's code states that any deposit is governed by Minnesota Statutes § 504B.178 together with the city's own section, so a St. Paul tenant is owed the state's one percent simple interest per year, paid when the tenancy ends.
Cited to Saint Paul Legislative Code § 193.02 (security deposits and prepaid rent) and 1 more source · Verified August 28, 2026
What the city adds are caps: the deposit may not exceed one month's rent, prepaid rent may not exceed another month's rent, and where an application could otherwise be denied under the city's screening rules a landlord may take one additional month as deposit or prepayment. The chapter, adopted May 7, 2025, took effect one year later, in May 2026.
St. Paul deposit interest at a glance
| Interest owed under local law | The local code defers to the state rule |
|---|
Who and what is covered
Chapter 193 took effect in May 2026, one year after its May 7, 2025 adoption; the deposit's handling, interest included, runs on the state statute for every tenancy.
How this interacts with state law
St. Paul writes no deposit-interest rule of its own. Chapter 193's governing-law clause states that any security deposit "is governed by the provisions of Minn. Stat., § 504B.178, together with this section" — the same drafting move as Minneapolis — and says nothing about interest or a rate. The interest a St. Paul tenant is owed comes entirely from state law: one percent simple per year, paid when the tenancy ends.
Notes and caveats
- The deference is general, not interest-specific — Section 193.02(d) makes the whole deposit subject to the state statute and never mentions interest or a rate. The one percent figure and the pay-at-termination rule belong to state law alone.
- Other deposits in the city code — The city code's other security-deposit references are a screening-rules timing trigger and cable-franchise equipment deposits — none is a tenancy-deposit interest rule.
Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, St. Paul, Minnesota: security deposit interest (verified August 28, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/deposit-interest/minnesota/st-paul/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified).
Citations
- Saint Paul Legislative Code § 193.02 (security deposits and prepaid rent) · (d) (verified 2026) Official source
- Minn. Stat. § 504B.178 (the state deposit-interest duty) (verified 2026) Official source
How this record was verified: Search of the entire Saint Paul Legislative Code (codified through Ordinance No. 26-26, adopted May 13, 2026) for every security-deposit provision, with all four matching documents read and classified; the whole of Title XIX (Consumer Protection) examined for every co-occurrence of deposit and interest language; and § 193.02 with its chapter's other sections read in full on the city's code publisher.
This page records local law on deposit interest. The statewide position — Minnesota requires interest on every residential security deposit at one percent a year, simple and noncompounded, and it is paid with the deposit when the tenancy ends. — lives on the Minnesota deposit-interest page with its own citations and verification date.