Minnesota Lease Situation: I Want To End My Lease 24 Hours After Getting Keys Due To Home Condition

Cross posted from r/asklawyers

Location: Minnesota

Hi! Would love some thoughts from this community, specifically those familiar with Minnesota landlord/tenant law to help me understand my position in this situation and whether or not I should be prepared to take the L and not get what I want here.

I have also contacted HOME Line (a MN nonprofit for tenant advocacy) for tenant-specific advice, but I’m trying to understand the legal issues/cast a wide net to get info from more educated people than myself while I wait for a response.

My husband and I signed a residential lease sight unseen (we are an active duty military family, so we did a FT tour) for a single-family home in Minnesota. The lease began September 4, 2026. We took possession and immediately discovered several significant issues that were not apparent to us beforehand.

1. Severe pre-existing carpet contamination
Immediately upon moving in, we discovered extensive animal urine staining and odor throughout the carpeting. This was not damage caused by us. The condition was apparent essentially immediately upon taking possession.
We notified the property manager within the first 24 hours with a written email to the leasing agent. The management company has acknowledged the carpet issue and the owner has agreed to have the carpets professionally cleaned.
The condition is significant enough that we have concerns about occupying the home until it has been properly remediated.

2. A/C appears to be substantially nonfunctional
The lease specifically includes air conditioning as an amenity in the “appliances” section of the lease.
The house is two stories, and there is extremely limited airflow from the second-floor vents. We had the A/C set around 70–72°F for at least 4.5 hours, but the thermostat was still showing approximately 87°F inside the house.
A maintenance technician came out and suggested closing/blocking vents on the lower level to redirect more air upstairs. That does not appear to address the underlying HVAC problem, and the second floor still is not being adequately cooled.

My understanding is that MN statute 504B.161 requires landlords to keep residential premises fit for their intended use and in reasonable repair. I also noticed that 504B.381 specifically addresses emergency tenant remedies and includes a nonfunctioning air conditioner when A/C is included in the lease.

3. The lease references an addendum that we were not given
There is a provision in our lease titled “Renting Sight-Unseen Disclaimer.” It states:
“In the event this property is leased sight-unseen, the unit will be presented in reasonable repair pursuant to Minn. Stat. 504B.161. Tenant agrees to report any concerns within 24 hours of move in. Please refer to the Renting Sight-Unseen addendum.”
We did lease the property sight-unseen, and we reported the problems within 24 hours.
However, the executed PDF of our lease that we were provided does not contain the referenced “Renting Sight-Unseen Addendum.” I searched through the entire document and can find other addenda that were incorporated into the lease, but not this one.

We contacted the management company and asked whether the owner would agree to mutually terminate the lease rather than have us proceed with carpet remediation and HVAC repairs immediately after moving in.
We are not currently trying to simply walk away from the lease without agreement. We have asked for a mutual termination and return of the security deposit and the rent paid, prorated for the two days we occupied the property. And honestly, I’m willing to let them keep the security deposit if it means we get to terminate the lease.

The management company has not rejected the request yet. They have said that the lease is in place, the carpet and A/C are being addressed, and they are waiting for the owner's response.
In the meantime, because of the condition of the house, we have been displaced and may incur temporary housing, storage, and other moving-related expenses while this is being resolved.

My questions are:
Does the combination of significant pre-existing animal urine contamination and an A/C system that cannot adequately cool the home potentially constitute a failure to provide premises that are “fit for the use intended” or in “reasonable repair” under MN statute 504B.161?

Could these circumstances potentially give us a legal basis to terminate/rescind the lease, rather than merely request repairs?

If the property cannot reasonably be occupied while the landlord is remediating the conditions, could the landlord potentially be responsible for reasonable temporary housing or other consequential expenses? Or would the likely remedy be limited to rent abatement/repair?

How does the missing “Renting Sight-Unseen Addendum” affect things? The main lease expressly references it and incorporates 504B.161, but the addendum was not included in the lease documents we received. Does that have any contractual significance?

Ultimately I’m really looking for advice on how likely it is that I can get out of this lease if the owner does not agree to a mutual termination.