In September, a coalition of housing groups sent a letter to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) to express ongoing concerns about the department’s latest draft of the Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) Rule. MDH’s proposal, which has been in development for nearly a decade, would shift enforcement of the federal RRP Rule from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the state. This draft proposal would make Minnesota unique, as all other states with their own RRP Rules simply adopt the federal guidelines by reference rather than creating entirely separate standards.

In the letter, the coalition, which includes six organizations, outlined specific technical issues with the latest draft and asked MDH to provide a written response addressing three
critical points:

• A summary of any Minnesota laws or rules that conflict with the EPA’s RRP Rule.
• A comparison between the EPA Rule and MDH’s current proposal.
• An economic analysis of the cost differences between the MDH proposal and the EPA version.

The letter was signed by Housing First Minnesota, Minnesota Association of Realtors, Minnesota Multi Housing Association, Builders Association of Minnesota, NARI Minnesota and the Central Minnesota Builders Association. 

Residential building TAG begins 

The Technical Advisor Group (TAG) reviewing the Minnesota Residential Building Code (Chapter 1309) began its work in November, which is expected to continue into February. TAG Members include Kyle Thrapp of McMonigal Architects, Nathan Weber of the city of Detroit Lakes, Keith Demarset of the city of Anoka, Steve Kartak of the city of Eden Prairie, Lisa Hartwig of the city of Minneapolis, Curtis Johnson of Pulte Homes, Greg Olson of ProEd Resources and Mike Paradise of Bigelow Homes. 

Single-stair apartments approved  

The TAG responsible for overseeing the Commercial Building Code (Chapter 1305) approved a proposal to allow single-stair access in multifamily buildings up to four stories tall. This change, set to take effect in 2026, raises the limit from the current maximum of three stories. 

Stephen Smith from the Center for Building North America shared on LinkedIn, “The approval was a rare unanimous one.” 

However, there are some limitations to ensure safety and functionality. Each floor will be capped at 4,000 square feet, with no more than four units per floor.

The proposal is still under technical review but is expected to be included when the 2026 Building Code update is finalized. 

Other code updates 

The 2024 UPC ad hoc Committee continues to review changes to Minnesota’s Plumbing Code. Meetings are scheduled through April 2025. 

The Fuel Gas and Mechanical Code TAG will be transitioning its work to developing a mechanical code for residential buildings.

The Residential Energy Code TAG will resume its work and begin reviewing the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). This TAG has been on hiatus since completing the 2021 IECC in February.

All codes will have to work through the Minnesota Rulemaking process. DLI will complete rulemaking on the State Building Code, then shift to the Plumbing Code.