Since beginning this collection, I’ve explored Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin regulation because it pertains to the allocation of tasks for property insurance coverage protection between unit homeowners and condominium associations. In neighboring Minnesota, the final rule is analogous: Condominium associations are liable for insuring and sustaining frequent parts and structural parts of the constructing, whereas unit homeowners are liable for their private property and inside of their items.
A “Frequent Component” is all parts of the frequent curiosity group Minn. Stat. § 515B.1‑103(7). Whereas a “Restricted Frequent Component” means a portion of the frequent parts allotted by the declaration or operation of part 515B.2-109(c) or (d) for the unique use of a number of however fewer than the entire items. Minn. Stat. § 515B.1‑103(20).
Minn. Stat. § 515A.2‑102(4) defines unit boundaries and default classifications for Restricted Frequent Components:
Besides as in any other case offered by the declaration:
(1) If partitions, flooring, or ceilings are designated as boundaries of a unit, all lath, furring, wallboard, plasterboard, plaster, paneling, tiles, wallpaper, paint, completed flooring, and another supplies constituting any a part of the completed surfaces thereof are part of the unit, and all different parts of the partitions, flooring, or ceilings are part of the frequent parts.
(2) If any chute, flue, duct, pipe, wire, conduit, bearing wall, bearing column, or another fixture lies partially inside and partially exterior of the designated boundaries of a unit, any portion thereof serving solely that unit is a restricted frequent component allotted solely to that unit, and any portion thereof serving a couple of unit or any portion of the frequent parts is part of the frequent parts.
(3) Topic to the provisions of paragraph (2), all areas, inside partitions, and different fixtures and enhancements inside the boundaries of a unit are part of the unit.
(4) All exterior doorways and home windows and any shutters, awnings, window containers, doorsteps, stoops, porches, balconies, patios, or different fixtures designed to serve a single unit, however situated exterior the unit’s boundaries, are restricted frequent parts allotted completely to that unit.
What Does This Imply for Condominium House owners?
Like Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, Minnesota locations nice weight on a condominium’s governing paperwork. Nonetheless, the Minnesota statute does outline some phrases. Beneath § 515A.2-105, each affiliation should undertake bylaws and a declaration that clearly allocates an undivided curiosity within the frequent parts and allocates any restricted frequent parts. § 515A.2-109 states that the declaration shall specify to which unit every restricted frequent component is allotted, apart from the restricted frequent parts described in 515A.2-10(2) and (4). Courts in Minnesota seek advice from the statute but additionally to the rental declarations. However whose accountability is it to keep up and restore frequent and restricted frequent parts?
In a single notable case, Gallery Tower Condominium Ass’n v. Carlson, 2011 WL 2302701 (Minn. Ct. App. June 13, 2011), the Minnesota Courtroom of Appeals addressed the allocation of upkeep tasks between unit homeowners and the condominium affiliation, focusing particularly on riser pipes linked to the HVAC system. The courtroom defined that, underneath each the condominium declaration and the Minnesota Frequent Curiosity Possession Act (MCIOA), unit homeowners are liable for the inside of their items, whereas the affiliation is liable for sustaining and repairing frequent parts and restricted frequent parts. The courtroom rejected the unit homeowners’ argument that the riser pipes have been restricted frequent parts serving solely their unit, citing statutory language that classifies any element situated exterior the unit boundaries and serving the whole constructing as a standard component. Accordingly, the courtroom held that the affiliation had each the authority and the accountability to keep up and restore the riser pipes, even with out inspecting the person unit. The choice strengthened that when parts lie exterior a unit’s bodily boundaries and profit the broader group, the duty to keep up them rests with the affiliation, not the person proprietor.
Takeaway
In Minnesota, when parts lie exterior a unit’s bodily boundaries and profit the broader group, the duty to keep up them rests with the affiliation, not the person proprietor.