July 1, 2025 | Mark Luis Foster
The HOA ombudsman (or ombudsperson for those following along) office is now officially a thing, having gone into effect July 1 with a host of other Minnesota legislation.
According to the Star Tribune:
[The] effort came amid widespread complaints from residents about conflicts of interest and abuses of power, including one resident who described foreclosure proceedings started against them over a $56 trash fine.
If you’ve attended our HOA Leadership chapter meetings, you know that the $56 fine story is spurious, as the actual situation involved a homeowner who was thousands in arrears on their HOA fees and ended up settling up the balance, except for $56, for some odd reason. In a legal dispute, the whole balance must be paid — but no matter. The media and legislators ran with the narrative to prove their point about us big, bad HOAs.
So this office will be set up in the MN Department of Commerce. We’ll be interested in who they hire for this role.
A silver lining in the Star Tribune:
The addition of an ombudsperson is the only element of HOA reform that succeeded in the State Legislature this year.
We have that going for us. But we’ll have to suffer through more HOA reform legislation in the 2026 session.
[UPDATE] KARE 11, the NBC affiliate in the Twin Cities, carried a longer report on the new ombudsman office. They interview a new board leader who says she was stung by an assessment over a “large construction contract.” Representative Kristin Bahner, one of the authors of the bill, is interviewed (again). The report, as always, has a decidedly anti-HOA feel.You can watch their report HERE.
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So there is the position of ombudsman, and it is law, but there is not anyone in that position?
I wonder if that person in that position would also be working on and intervening FOR HOA boards who are having problems and issues with management companies?
Thank you for the info and sharing the communication. There’s more work to be done!