2026-09-12 · Minnesota · Legislation

What happened. Governor Tim Walz signed S.F. 1750 into law on 12 May 2026 as Laws 2026, chapter 82 — the largest rewrite of the Minnesota Common Interest Ownership Act since the Act took effect in 1994.¹ Fifteen sections amend or create provisions across Minn. Stat. ch. 515B, and one creates an entirely new article 5.

Almost none of it is in force yet. Sections 2 through 13 take effect 1 January 2027; section 1, the definitions, took effect the day after enactment. That gap is the whole practical story for Minnesota boards right now.

What the act actually covers

Chapter 82 is not a single reform. It is thirteen of them, landing at once:

• a $100 cap on the fine for a single violation, with four carve-outs
• late fees capped at the greater of $20 or five percent, and interest on delinquencies capped at eight percent
• a codified 30-day hearing right before a fine sticks, and a written resolution afterwards
• a bar on refusing partial payments, and a rule that payments go to assessments before fines
• no foreclosure until the qualifying debt is more than three months delinquent
• 21 days' notice and comment before any rule is adopted, amended or revoked
• open board meetings, with the agenda and the contracts up for approval published in advance
• three written competitive bids on any property contract estimated above $50,000
• director terms capped at three years and required to be staggered
• a free grievance hearing, and referral to the state ombudsperson if it fails
• a 90-day decision deadline on architectural applications
• an end to association authority over parking on publicly maintained streets
• a statutory ban on retaliation against owners who assert their rights

How it got here

The act is the legislative output of a bipartisan Legislative Working Group on Common Interest Communities and Homeowners Associations, created in 2024, which met more than ten times and delivered 41 consensus recommendations in February 2025. The working group expired on 28 February 2025; its recommendations became S.F. 1750.

The bill passed the House 100–34 on 30 April 2026 and cleared the Senate on 6 May 2026, where it was repassed 56–9 after House amendments.² Those are not narrow margins, and they matter: a statute carried by supermajorities in both chambers is unlikely to be unwound in 2027.

It reaches communities that already exist

Section 15 of the act is short and consequential: “Sections 1 to 13 are effective on the dates provided and apply to common interest communities created before, on, or after the date of enactment.” There is no grandfather clause. An association formed in 1996 is bound on the same day as one formed in 2026.

One provision is deliberately different. The new local-government preemption in section 14 applies only to communities created on or after 1 January 2027 — forward-looking by design, because it governs how new associations come into existence rather than how existing ones behave.

1. Laws 2026, ch. 82 (S.F. 1750), full session-law text — Minnesota Revisor of Statutes ↩
2. “New Laws 2026: Chapter 82” — Minnesota House of Representatives Public Information Services ↩
3. S.F. 1750 bill status and action history — Minnesota Revisor of Statutes ↩
4. Minn. Stat. § 645.02 — default effective date for acts silent on the question ↩
5. Laws 2026, ch. 61 (S.F. 3622), the companion technical act — Minnesota Revisor of Statutes ↩
6. Minn. Stat. § 45.0137 — Common Interest Community Ombudsperson ↩