COMMUNITY LIFE/INFORMATION

POLICE & LANDLORD INFORMATION

Parties
Having a party is not illegal. The following situations could prompt a police call, however:

• Minors drinking alcohol
• Noise from the party heard from 50’ away (this includes constant car door slamming and yelling back and forth when coming to or leaving from the party)
• Guests at the party who don’t behave appropriately. There should be no urinating in public, no fighting, and trash and bottles should not be left lying around the neighborhood
• Intoxicated guests driving vehicles
• Alcohol being sold
• Fighting

The most common complaint received by the Police Department about rental property is that the tenants party too much. Often the parties are so frequent that word gets out to the general public and the parties grow to unmanageable sizes. Many neighborhoods are adopting a “zero tolerance” approach to loud parties in the neighborhood and will contact the police immediately when the party becomes disruptive to their neighborhood.

The old concept of “it’s only the college students blowing off a little steam” is no longer convincing to residents who have endured noise, litter, and public urination for years and years.

Be aware that if a party prompts a police call, the landlord will be notified. This may jeopardize your relationship with your landlord and put a black mark on your rental history making it difficult to rent again.

Neighborhood Watch
The Moorhead Police and Clay County Sheriff’s (Local Law Enforcement) Departments partners with Campus Security to heighten enforcement to patrol the campus and surrounding neighborhood. This watch occurs every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings from 9pm – 3am during the academic year.

The Neighborhood Watch is a positive endorsement of The President’s Task Force efforts and their strategic plan for reducing beverage alcohol misuse among MSUM students. Also, by providing more security around the perimeter of the campus, we are acknowledging our responsibility to the homeowners in the area to make our students, as representatives of MSUM, accountable for their actions. They (the homeowners) can trust there will be consequences for students who choose to disregard the University’s policies on alcohol and other drugs.

Disorderly Tenant Ordinance
Moorhead has an ordinance that requires landlords to be responsible for the behavior that occurs in their rental property. If disorderly tenants occupy a property, the landlord can lose his or her right to rent the property for a period of time, which means existing tenants would have to move.

Why does this concern you? If the police are called to your rental unit for any of the following behaviors, the landlord will be notified and the City will begin monitoring the property for future occurrences of disorderly behavior:

• Noise, including parties
• Fighting and assaults
• Disorderly conduct
• Minors consuming alcohol or providing alcohol to minors
• Unlawful use of weapons and fireworks

If you or any of your guests participate in the above behaviors, you may be subject to arrest, citations, followed by penalties from your landlord, which might include eviction.

How Many People Can Live in my Apartment?
Depending upon the size of the apartment, the City has determined and informed your landlord of the number of tenants the property can house. This may be one, two or three, but no more than four unrelated adults. Even if the apartment is very large, the City only allows four unrelated adults to live there.

Of course, only the people listed on the lease should be living in your apartment. Your landlord should indicate in the lease how long you can host a guest in your apartment…usually one week or less. If your guest stays longer than that amount of time, the landlord may require the additional person to apply to be a tenant or evict you if you don’t ask your guest to leave.

Residential neighborhoods are especially sensitive to the over occupancy of a rental property in their neighborhood. Many of Moorhead’s older neighborhoods were not designed for rental property occupied by more than four tenants because there is usually inadequate parking space available for all the vehicles owned by tenants. Therefore, vehicles end up parking over the sidewalk or on the grass, which is illegal. Neighborhoods watch carefully for evidence there are more than four unrelated individuals living in a rental property.

For more information please contact:
Moorhead Police Department
915 9th Avenue North
Non-emergency 299.5120
Administration 299.5141
Emergency 911
www.moorheadpolice.com

Housing Discrimination
If you feel you are a victim of housing discrimination or have been wronged by a landlord in any other way, contact legal aid.

Minnesota
Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota
1015 7th Avenue North
PO Box 838
Moorhead, MN 56560
218.233.8585

North Dakota
Legal Services of North Dakota Inc.
1025 Third Street North, Suite 8
PO Box 1893
Bismarck, ND 58502
1.800.634.5263