Is Your Minneapolis Duplex A Rotten Tomato?

As many of you know, the city of Minneapolis (as well as many surrounding communities) require duplex owners to have a valid rental license.

This is true even if you or a family member live in the property.

But now, much like movie reviewers, the city is giving your a rating.

In 2015, Minneapolis instituted a rental property Tier system.

In an effort to improve the overall conditions, maintenance and management of rental properties city wide, they began rating and assigning properties to tiers based on their condition, management and maintenance.

Tier 1 is reserved for properties that are well maintained and use very little city services. Examples of city services may include police calls for noise, excessive nuisance conditions or housing code violations that require repeated visits from inspectors, police, and so forth.

Because these properties are in good order, the city will now require them to be reinspected for rental licenses every 8 years (unless ownership changes).

Tier 2 properties are those maintained to minimum standards. They tend to use some city services. As a result, they are now required to be inspected once every 5 years.

Finally, Tier 3 properties are considered poorly maintained and require excessive visits from city officials. These duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes will be subject to annual rental inspections.

Rental property owners may be able to get their properties Tier status changed. In order to do so, owners will need referrals from inspectors and other city departments, who use objective criteria to determine whether the property qualifies.

As this program becomes more commonplace, Minneapolis duplex buyers are sure to make investigating a property’s tier status part of their due diligence process.

In more ways than one, it pays to keep your duplex in good repair.