2026-09-12 · Minnesota · Legislation · Did not pass

What happened. Minnesota's Starter Homes Act — the lead bill of the Yes to Homes coalition and the biggest zoning-reform vehicle of the biennium — was voted down on a 7–5 roll call in the House Elections Finance and Government Operations Committee on 23 March 2026. The Senate companion never got a hearing.¹

It is not law. It died in a committee, not on a floor, which is a distinction that matters for what happens next.

The HOA provision

The revised 2026 version imposed three mandates on every Minnesota city: allow accessory dwelling units in residential areas; eliminate certain design and aesthetic standards including porch requirements, shutters and garage minimums; and prohibit mandatory homeowners associations.

Around that sat a menu of eleven zoning-reform options from which large cities would pick six, mid-sized cities four, and smaller cities three — options including eliminating parking minimums, allowing eight-plexes, or offering subsidies.

The HOA half is now largely moot

This is the part readers should not miss. The prohibition on cities requiring an association as a development condition passed anyway, in the other bill.

Section 14 of Laws 2026, ch. 82 creates Minn. Stat. § 515B.5-101, barring a local government from conditioning approval of a residential building permit, conditional use permit, subdivision, planned unit development or other residential development permit on the creation of an HOA, on common features necessitating one unless the developer requests them, on terms in the governing documents, or on the adoption or revocation of association rules. Effective 1 January 2027 for communities created on or after that date.

So the Starter Homes Act's HOA provision failed and the policy is law. What did not pass is the rest: the ADU mandate, the design-standard preemption, and the tiered zoning menu.

Who was for and against

The bill was carried by Reps. Spencer Igo (R-Wabana Township) and Michael Howard (DFL-Richfield), a deliberately bipartisan pairing, with Rep. Larry Kraft (DFL-St. Louis Park); the Senate companion was Sen. Lindsey Port (DFL-Burnsville).

Backers included Neighbors For More Neighbors, Housing First Minnesota and the Minnesota Housing Partnership. The League of Minnesota Cities opposed it.²

1. “Revised Starter Homes Act gets informational hearing,” Minnesota House Session Daily (3 Mar. 2026) ↩
2. “The Starter Homes Act: Explained” — Neighbors For More Neighbors ↩
3. “2026 Legislative Session Recap” — Neighbors For More Neighbors ↩
4. “Who is running for Minnesota governor in 2026, with Tim Walz out” — MPR News ↩
5. Minnesota House Session Daily (27 Apr. 2026) — Strengthen Minnesota Homes funding bill ↩