Since beginning this sequence, I’ve explored Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin legislation because it pertains to the allocation of obligations for property insurance coverage protection between unit homeowners and condominium associations. In neighboring Minnesota, the final rule is comparable: Condominium associations are answerable for insuring and sustaining widespread components and structural elements of the constructing, whereas unit homeowners are answerable for their private property and inside of their items.
A “Frequent Ingredient” is all parts of the widespread curiosity neighborhood Minn. Stat. § 515B.1‑103(7). Whereas a “Restricted Frequent Ingredient” 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 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 supplied 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 exterior of the designated boundaries of a unit, any portion thereof serving solely that unit is a restricted widespread aspect allotted solely to that unit, and any portion thereof serving a couple of 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 packing containers, doorsteps, stoops, porches, balconies, patios, or different fixtures designed to serve a single unit, however positioned exterior the unit’s boundaries, are restricted widespread components allotted solely 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 aspect is allotted, apart from the restricted widespread components described in 515A.2-10(2) and (4). Courts in Minnesota seek advice from the statute but additionally to the apartment 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 Court docket of Appeals addressed the allocation of upkeep obligations between unit homeowners 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 Frequent Curiosity Possession Act (MCIOA), unit homeowners are answerable for the inside of their items, whereas the affiliation is answerable for sustaining and repairing widespread components and restricted widespread components. The courtroom rejected the unit homeowners’ argument that the riser pipes had been restricted widespread components serving solely their unit, citing statutory language that classifies any part positioned exterior the unit boundaries and serving all the constructing as a standard aspect. 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 bolstered that when components lie exterior 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 exterior 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.
