Minneapolis Bedroom Requirements Come Out Of The Closet

If I asked you to describe a bedroom to me, chances are that early on, you’d include the word “closet”.

For most of us, a closet is a necessity in a bedroom. After all, where would we hide the mess when company’s coming over if we didn’t have one.

So if you see a duplex or single family home with a room that doesn’t have one, it can’t be a bedroom. Right?

Not in the city of Minneapolis.

In fact, the word closet isn’t even mentioned in the city’s requirements for a bedroom.

Minneapolis bedrooms are required to have a door and at least one escape window. The window has to be at least 20″ wide and 24″ tall, with a net overall clear opening of 5.7 feet.  What’s more, the bottom sill can’t be more than 44 ” above the floor.

Of course, you can’t cover the window with anything that would keep someone from escaping during an emergency, like grilles or grates, unless they have approved release latches.

If the bedroom is below ground level, the window needs to have a window well. If the well is more than 44″ deep, it’s also  required to have a permanent ladder.

Bedrooms must also provide the equivalent of at least 8 percent of the floor area in window glass. For example, if you have a room that’s 200 square feet in size, you would need window glass totalling at least 16 square feet.

According to the city of Minneapolis, bedrooms must also have a minimum ceiling height of 7 feet, and be no less than 70 square feet in size.

Since this is Minnesota, it goes without saying that the city also demands a bedroom feature a heat source capable of keeping the room at a minimum temperature of 69 degrees.

The city clearly cares about the health and well-being of its residents.

But it could care less what they do with their clothes.