House passes homeowners 'bill of rights' after heated floor debate over data privacy

The Minnesota House passed a comprehensive homeowners/common‑interest communities bill (Senate File 1750) on April 28, approving statutory updates the sponsors said were decades in the making.

Representative Bahner, the bill’s sponsor in the House, framed SF1750 as a ‘homeowners bill of rights’ that modernizes a 32‑year‑old statute to improve transparency, best practices, and consumer protections for unit owners and HOA boards. “This bill … creates a solid foundation for transparency, best practices, paired with strong consumer protections,” Bahner said.

The floor spent hours on a sequence of amendments and extensive debate on data‑privacy language. Representative Godfrey offered an amendment (to the Bonner technical amendment) that would bar associations and management companies from selling unit owners’ private data and would require vendor agreements preventing downstream resale. Godfrey read a constituent statement about a Safe‑at‑Home participant whose address and personal information were exposed through HOA processes: “My home should be a place of stability and protection, not a source of fear,” she read.

Opponents and several committee chairs warned that the amendment—while well‑intentioned—had not been vetted with all stakeholders and could impede emergency maintenance or run into conflicts with existing disclosure requirements in chapter 515B. Representative Quam and others urged further committee work and clearer carve‑outs for urgent maintenance actions. The amendment to the amendment failed on a 67–67 tie; the floor then adopted other edits and an eviction‑safety amendment from Representative Keeler.

Supporters emphasized that the final package balanced homeowners’ concerns and HOA governance needs and credited months of stakeholder negotiation. Representative Bonner described the bill as the product of bipartisan listening sessions and technical edits, and the House ultimately passed the measure 100–34.

What it means: SF1750 makes multiple changes to HOA governance — clarifying notice requirements, records access, limitations on certain fees and foreclosure powers, and adding consumer protections. The floor debate revealed tension between advocates for immediate privacy safeguards for vulnerable residents (including Safe‑at‑Home participants) and officials and industry representatives who asked for more time to address practical implementation and emergency exceptions.

Next steps: SF1750 is passed by the House as amended and will be forwarded for final processing and transmittal; sponsors said they expect to continue stakeholder work on implementation details.