New: Minnesota Department of Labor & Industry Released Proposed Minnesota Residential Building Code

After working for the past year on developing the new residential building code for Minnesota, the Department of Labor & Industry released the proposed residential building code, Chapter 1309, on Sept. 13.

The process to develop the new building codes, set to go into effect on March 31, 2020, began in January 2018, with Department staff and subject matter experts on several Technical Advisory Groups (TAGs) reviewed model code changes.

Ross Anderson of The Energy Network Worldwide (Energy Code), Mike Barden of Pulte Homes (Structural Code), Mike Swanson of Brandl Anderson (Code Administration) represented Housing First Minnesota and its members during this initial review of model code changes.

During the code process, Housing First Minnesota submitted several rounds of comments, advocating for no changes in Minnesota’s residential energy code and fought the inclusion of fire sprinklers in single-family homes.

The TAG recommendations were presented to the Construction Codes Advisory Council in June 2018. The Construction Code Advisory Council has held two meetings this year to review the code process and proposed codes. A third meeting is scheduled for Oct. 21.

Since the technical review last year, the Department has worked to draft the various proposed codes, which were published beginning this past summer, with the process continuing into this fall.

Housing First Minnesota will be submitting official comments on the proposed code changes to the Department of Labor & Industry in the coming days. Industry members are encouraged to provide their own comments as well.

If you would like more information about providing comments on the proposed Minnesota building codes, contact Nick Erickson at nick@housingfirstmn.org.

Additional proposed codes are available at via the Department’s website:

1. Administration of the State Building Code – Minnesota Rules, Chapter 1300
2. Simplified Wind Loads – Minnesota Rules, Part 1303.2200
3. Adoption of the International Building Code – Minnesota Rules, Chapter 1305
4. Elevators and Related Devices – Minnesota Rules, Chapter 1307
5. Rehabilitation of Existing Buildings – Minnesota Rules, Chapter 1311
6. Commercial Energy Code – Minnesota Rules, Chapter 1323
7. Accessibility for Buildings and Facilities – Minnesota Rules, Chapter 1341
8. Minnesota Mechanical and Fuel Gas Codes – Minnesota Rules, Chapter 1346
9. Fire Code – Minnesota Rules, Chapter 7511

A decision on the residential energy code has not yet been made.

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