Since beginning this sequence, I’ve explored Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin legislation because it pertains to the allocation of duties for property insurance coverage protection between unit house owners and condominium associations. In neighboring Minnesota, the overall rule is analogous: Condominium associations are chargeable for insuring and sustaining widespread components and structural elements of the constructing, whereas unit house owners are chargeable for their private property and inside of their models.
A “Widespread Factor” is all parts of the widespread curiosity neighborhood Minn. Stat. § 515B.1‑103(7). Whereas a “Restricted Widespread Factor” means a portion of the widespread components 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 all the models. Minn. Stat. § 515B.1‑103(20).
Minn. Stat. § 515A.2‑102(4) defines unit boundaries and default classifications for Restricted Widespread 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 widespread components.
(2) If any chute, flue, duct, pipe, wire, conduit, bearing wall, bearing column, or another fixture lies partially inside and partially outdoors of the designated boundaries of a unit, any portion thereof serving solely that unit is a restricted widespread ingredient allotted solely to that unit, and any portion thereof serving multiple unit or any portion of the widespread components is part of the widespread components.
(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 positioned outdoors the unit’s boundaries, are restricted widespread components allotted completely to that unit.
What Does This Imply for Condominium Homeowners?
Like Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, Minnesota locations nice weight on a condominium’s governing paperwork. Nevertheless, the Minnesota statute does outline some phrases. Below § 515A.2-105, each affiliation should undertake bylaws and a declaration that clearly allocates an undivided curiosity within the widespread components and allocates any restricted widespread components. § 515A.2-109 states that the declaration shall specify to which unit every restricted widespread ingredient is allotted, aside from the restricted widespread components described in 515A.2-10(2) and (4). Courts in Minnesota confer with the statute but additionally to the rental declarations. However whose duty is it to take care of and restore widespread and restricted widespread components?
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 duties between unit house owners and the condominium affiliation, focusing particularly on riser pipes linked to the HVAC system. The courtroom defined that, beneath each the condominium declaration and the Minnesota Widespread Curiosity Possession Act (MCIOA), unit house owners are chargeable for the inside of their models, whereas the affiliation is chargeable for sustaining and repairing widespread components and restricted widespread components. The courtroom rejected the unit house owners’ argument that the riser pipes have been restricted widespread components serving solely their unit, citing statutory language that classifies any element positioned outdoors the unit boundaries and serving the complete constructing as a typical ingredient. Accordingly, the courtroom held that the affiliation had each the authority and the duty to take care of and restore the riser pipes, even with out inspecting the person unit. The choice strengthened that when components lie outdoors a unit’s bodily boundaries and profit the broader neighborhood, the duty to take care of them rests with the affiliation, not the person proprietor.
Takeaway
In Minnesota, when components lie outdoors a unit’s bodily boundaries and profit the broader neighborhood, the duty to take care of them rests with the affiliation, not the person proprietor.
