Truth in Sale of Housing Process

Buyer’s information

Unless a certificate of approval is presented at closing, the buyer must complete any required repairs listed on the disclosure report within 90 days after closing. A notification letter from the City summarizes the required repairs, and tells you when a permit is needed. You may get a copy of the notification letter from the seller, or from the TIH office, if you have filed a signed acknowledgement of responsibility form (upon request). Truth in Sale of Housing Reports and Repair/Replace checklists are available on Property Information.

Acknowledgment of Responsibility

The buyer signs the acknowledgement of responsibility at closing. The buyer, buyer's agent, and closer are jointly required to file the acknowledgement of responsibility and a copy of the TIH disclosure report with the Truth-In-Housing Department within 1 day after the closing date. If a current certificate of approval is presented at closing, the acknowledgment of responsibility is not needed.

Permits

• Some required repairs may require a permit.
• If a permit is needed, that is indicated on the notification letter.
• Homeowners can pull (get) permits for the single-family house that they are living in (owner-occupied single-family dwelling).
• A homeowner should not pull a permit for repair work done by someone else. Whoever pulls the permit is responsible for completing the work correctly. If you hire someone to do work that requires a permit, it should be a licensed contractor. The contractor should pull their own permit. If you pull a permit for a contractor, that makes you responsible for their work. 
• A homeowner can pull a permit for most types of work. There are some exceptions. For example, a homeowner cannot pull a permit for gas or vent work on a furnace or boiler.
• Homeowners cannot pull permits for duplexes, even if they live on the property.

Safety Checks

• Some required repairs require safety checks such as water heaters, electrical, or heating. If a safety check is required, it is indicated on the notifications letter.
• The evaluator and/or the Minneapolis Truth-in-Housing section determine the need for safety checks.
• Licensed contractors in the related trade must do safety checks. (For example, a licensed electrician must do a safety check for the electrical system.)

Truth-In-Housing Re-Inspection

A re-inspection of the required repairs is required to make sure they were done properly.

The buyer has 90 days from the date of closing to:

1. See that all required permits are pulled.

2. Complete all the required repairs.

3. Have any required safety checks completed and sent to the Truth-In-Housing office.

4. Schedule a re-inspection.

For items requiring a permit, call the inspector listed on page 2 of your permit.

For non-permit items, call the evaluator who did the initial evaluation for the re-inspection. The evaluator will charge a fee for this service.

Re-Selling the property

The buyer must complete all repair/replace items and obtain a new Truth-in-Sale of Housing report before placing the property up for sale. Reports are good only for one sale, and for the person named as the seller on the report.