Apple Valley Landlord Must Pay $3.5K To Former Tenants

APPLE VALLEY, MN— Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has reached a settlement with an Apple Valley landlord who is accused of evicting tenants during the pandemic, in violation of Executive Order 20-79, Ellison's office announced.

Joanna Wentzlaff must pay her former tenants $3.5K, the office said.

Ellison's office sued Wentzlaff in February, alleging that she lied about needing family members to move into the property, an exemption to the Executive Order stating that landlords could not evict tenants during the pandemic unless certain circumstances were met, officials said. Instead of moving family into the property, Wentzlaff put the property up for sale, officials said.

The property has since been sold, officials said.

The consent judgement entered by the court requires Wentzlaff to pay her former tenants $3.5K to reimburse them for out-of-pocket costs and requires her to comply with the Executive Order, officials said.

“Having a safe and affordable roof over your head is essential to living with dignity and respect. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s also been essential to protecting people’s lives,” Ellison said. “The vast majority of landlords have done the right thing by their tenants and their communities during the pandemic: for those that have not, this case shows once again that my office will hold landlords accountable who violate the executive orders and put the health of their communities and the lives of their tenants at risk.”

Ellison's office has filed eight enforcement actions against landlords who have violated the order, officials said.

You can read the original criminal complaint against Wentzlaff here.