2026-09-12 · Minnesota · Legislation

What happened. Section 3 of Laws 2026, ch. 82 rewrites the fine procedure in Minn. Stat. § 515B.3-102(a)(11) and (c), and section 10 adds an entirely new statute, Minn. Stat. § 515B.3-125, governing when an association may put its lawyer on the clock at an owner's expense. Both take effect 1 January 2027.¹

The centrepiece is a conditional: attorney fees and costs “must not be charged or collected from a unit owner unless the hearing is held and the board or committee adopts a final resolution upholding the fine or assessment.”

The 30-day clock, and who it runs against

The statute gives the owner the initiative: “A unit owner, within 30 days after receipt of the notice, must request a hearing, unless the declaration provides for a different period.” The owner “has the right to be advised by an attorney or a designated representative at the hearing.”

Note the direction of the default. The 30 days is the owner's window to ask, not the association's window to schedule. And a declaration may set a different period — longer or shorter — so the operative deadline is document-specific.

The written resolution

If the hearing happens and the fine is upheld, the board must produce a document: “The association must provide, in any reasonable manner, a copy of the final resolution within 30 days of its adoption. The resolution must contain an explanation for upholding the fine or assessment.”

That is a reasoned-decision requirement, not a form. A resolution that says only “the fine is upheld” does not carry an explanation, and the statute conditions the fee recovery on the resolution's adoption.

Three new things the fine notice must say

The notice under § 515B.3-102(c) must now also tell the owner:

• that the assessment “may increase as a result of the imposition of attorney fees”;
• “the steps a unit owner must take to schedule the hearing”;
• that “homeownership advice is available from the Minnesota Homeownership Center and dispute resolution and other information services are available from the common interest community ombudsperson.”

The third item names two outside bodies in what has until now been a purely internal document. Every violation-notice template in the state needs new boilerplate before January.

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. Common Interest Community Ombudsperson — Minnesota Department of Commerce (services, limits, current capacity notice) ↩
4. Minn. Stat. § 515B.1-102 — applicability of MCIOA by community type and creation date ↩