327A.01 DEFINITIONS.
    Subdivision 1. Scope. As used in sections 327A.01 to 327A.07, the terms in this section shall
have the meanings assigned to them.
    Subd. 2. Building standards. "Building standards" means the materials and installation
standards of the State Building Code, adopted by the commissioner of administration pursuant to
sections 16B.59 to 16B.75, in effect at the time of the construction or remodeling.
    Subd. 3. Dwelling. "Dwelling" means a new building, not previously occupied, constructed
for the purpose of habitation; but does not include appurtenant recreational facilities, detached
garages, driveways, walkways, patios, boundary walls, retaining walls not necessary for the
structural stability of the dwelling, landscaping, fences, nonpermanent construction materials,
off-site improvements, and all other similar items.
    Subd. 4. Initial vendee. "Initial vendee" means a person who first contracts to purchase a
dwelling from a vendor for the purpose of habitation and not for resale in the ordinary course of
trade.
    Subd. 5. Major construction defect. "Major construction defect" means actual damage to
the load-bearing portion of the dwelling or the home improvement, including damage due to
subsidence, expansion or lateral movement of the soil, which affects the load-bearing function
and which vitally affects or is imminently likely to vitally affect use of the dwelling or the home
improvement for residential purposes. "Major construction defect" does not include damage due
to movement of the soil caused by flood, earthquake or other natural disaster.
    Subd. 6. Vendee. "Vendee" means any purchaser of a dwelling and includes the initial
vendee and any subsequent purchasers.
    Subd. 7. Vendor. "Vendor" means any person, firm or corporation which constructs dwellings
for the purpose of sale, including the construction of dwellings on land owned by vendees.
    Subd. 8. Warranty date. "Warranty date" means the date from and after which the statutory
warranties provided in section 327A.02 shall be effective, and is the earliest of
(a) The date of the initial vendee's first occupancy of the dwelling; or
(b) The date on which the initial vendee takes legal or equitable title in the dwelling.
In the case of a home improvement, the warranty date is the date on which the home
improvement work was completed.
    Subd. 9. Home improvement. "Home improvement" means the repairing, remodeling,
altering, converting or modernizing of, or adding to a residential building. For the purpose of
this definition, residential building does not include appurtenant recreational facilities, detached
garages, driveways, walkways, patios, boundary walls, retaining walls not necessary for the
structural stability of the building, landscaping, fences, nonpermanent construction materials,
off-site improvements, and all other similar items.
    Subd. 10. Home improvement contractor. "Home improvement contractor" means a person
who is engaged in the business of home improvement either full time or part time, and who holds
out to the public as having knowledge or skill peculiar to the business of home improvement.
    Subd. 11. Owner. "Owner" means any person who owns a residential building on which
home improvement work is performed, and includes any subsequent owner of the residential
building.
History: 1977 c 65 s 1; 1981 c 119 s 1-5; 1986 c 444; 2001 c 207 s 8; 1Sp2003 c 8 art 1 s 12

327A.02 STATUTORY WARRANTIES.
    Subdivision 1. Warranties by vendors. In every sale of a completed dwelling, and in every
contract for the sale of a dwelling to be completed, the vendor shall warrant to the vendee that:
(a) during the one-year period from and after the warranty date the dwelling shall be free
from defects caused by faulty workmanship and defective materials due to noncompliance with
building standards;
(b) during the two-year period from and after the warranty date, the dwelling shall be free
from defects caused by faulty installation of plumbing, electrical, heating, and cooling systems
due to noncompliance with building standards; and
(c) during the ten-year period from and after the warranty date, the dwelling shall be free
from major construction defects due to noncompliance with building standards.
    Subd. 2. Warranties to survive passage of title. The statutory warranties provided in this
section shall survive the passing of legal or equitable title in the dwelling to the vendee.
    Subd. 2a. Remedies unaffected by corporate dissolution. The statutory warranties
provided in this section are not affected by the dissolution of a vendor or home improvement
contractor that is a corporation or limited liability company.
    Subd. 3. Home improvement warranties. (a) In a sale or in a contract for the sale of home
improvement work involving major structural changes or additions to a residential building, the
home improvement contractor shall warrant to the owner that:
(1) during the one-year period from and after the warranty date the home improvement shall
be free from defects caused by faulty workmanship and defective materials due to noncompliance
with building standards; and
(2) during the ten-year period from and after the warranty date the home improvement shall
be free from major construction defects due to noncompliance with building standards.
(b) In a sale or in a contract for the sale of home improvement work involving the installation
of plumbing, electrical, heating or cooling systems, the home improvement contractor shall
warrant to the owner that, during the two-year period from and after the warranty date, the home
improvement shall be free from defects caused by the faulty installation of the system or systems
due to noncompliance with building standards.
(c) In a sale or in a contract for the sale of any home improvement work not covered by
paragraph (a) or (b), the home improvement contractor shall warrant to the owner that, during
the one-year period from and after the warranty date, the home improvement shall be free from
defects caused by faulty workmanship or defective materials due to noncompliance with building
standards.
    Subd. 4. Response from vendor to notice of claim. (a) Following notice under section
327A.03, the vendee must allow an inspection and opportunity to offer to repair the known loss or
damage. Upon request of the vendee, a court may order the vendor to conduct the inspection.
The inspection must be performed and any offer to repair must be made in writing to the vendee
within 30 days of the vendor's receipt of the written notice required under section 327A.03, clause
(a), alleging loss or damage. The applicable statute of limitations is tolled from the date the
written notice provided by the vendee is postmarked, or if not sent through the mail, received by
the vendor until the earliest of the following:
(1) the date the vendee rejects the vendor's offer to repair;
(2) the date the vendor rejects the vendee's claim in writing;
(3) failure by the vendor to make an offer to repair within the 30-day period described in
this subdivision; or
(4) 180 days.
For purposes of this subdivision, "vendor" includes a home improvement contractor.
(b) Upon completion of repairs as described in an offer to repair, the vendor must provide the
vendee with a list of the repairs made and a notice that the vendee may have a right to pursue
a warranty claim under this chapter. Provision of this statement is not an admission of liability.
Compliance with this subdivision does not affect any rights of the vendee under this chapter.
History: 1977 c 65 s 2; 1981 c 119 s 6; 2001 c 207 s 9,10; 2006 c 202 s 5,6

327A.03 EXCLUSIONS.
The liability of the vendor or the home improvement contractor under sections 327A.01 to
327A.07 is limited to the specific items set forth in sections 327A.01 to 327A.07 and does not
extend to the following:
(a) loss or damage not reported by the vendee or the owner to the vendor or the home
improvement contractor in writing within six months after the vendee or the owner discovers or
should have discovered the loss or damage;
(b) loss or damage caused by defects in design, installation, or materials which the vendee or
the owner supplied, installed, or directed to be installed;
(c) secondary loss or damage such as personal injury or property damage;
(d) loss or damage from normal wear and tear;
(e) loss or damage from normal shrinkage caused by drying of the dwelling or the home
improvement within tolerances of building standards;
(f) loss or damage from dampness and condensation due to insufficient ventilation after
occupancy;
(g) loss or damage from negligence, improper maintenance or alteration of the dwelling or
the home improvement by parties other than the vendor or the home improvement contractor;
(h) loss or damage from changes in grading of the ground around the dwelling or the home
improvement by parties other than the vendor or the home improvement contractor;
(i) landscaping or insect loss or damage;
(j) loss or damage from failure to maintain the dwelling or the home improvement in good
repair;
(k) loss or damage which the vendee or the owner, whenever feasible, has not taken timely
action to minimize;
(l) loss or damage which occurs after the dwelling or the home improvement is no longer
used primarily as a residence;
(m) accidental loss or damage usually described as acts of God, including, but not limited
to: fire, explosion, smoke, water escape, windstorm, hail or lightning, falling trees, aircraft and
vehicles, flood, and earthquake, except when the loss or damage is caused by failure to comply
with building standards;
(n) loss or damage from soil movement which is compensated by legislation or covered by
insurance;
(o) loss or damage due to soil conditions where construction is done upon lands owned by
the vendee or the owner and obtained by the vendee or owner from a source independent of the
vendor or the home improvement contractor;
(p) in the case of home improvement work, loss or damage due to defects in the existing
structure and systems not caused by the home improvement.
History: 1977 c 65 s 3; 1981 c 119 s 7; 1986 c 444

327A.04 WAIVER AND MODIFICATION LIMITED.
    Subdivision 1. Waiver. Except as provided in subdivisions 2 and 3, the provisions of sections
327A.01 to 327A.07 cannot be waived or modified by contract or otherwise. Any agreement
which purports to waive or modify the provisions of sections 327A.01 to 327A.07, except as
provided in subdivisions 2 and 3 of this section, shall be void.
    Subd. 2. Modification. At any time after a contract for the sale of a dwelling is entered into
by and between a vendor and a vendee or a contract for home improvement work is entered into
by and between a home improvement contractor and an owner, any of the statutory warranties
provided for in section 327A.02 may be excluded or modified only by a written instrument,
printed in boldface type of a minimum size of ten points, which is signed by the vendee or the
owner and which sets forth in detail the warranty involved, the consent of the vendee or the
owner, and the terms of the new agreement contained in the writing. No exclusion or modification
shall be effective unless the vendor or the home improvement contractor provides substitute
express warranties offering substantially the same protections to the vendee or the owner as the
statutory warranties set forth in section 327A.02. Any modification or exclusion agreed to by
vendee and vendor or the owner and home improvement contractor pursuant to this subdivision
shall not require the approval of the commissioner of administration pursuant to section 327A.07.
    Subd. 3. Exception. If a major construction defect is discovered prior to the sale of a
dwelling, the statutory warranty set forth in section 327A.02, subdivision 1, clause (c) may be
waived for the defect identified in the waiver instrument, after full oral disclosure of the specific
defect, by an instrument which sets forth in detail: the specific defect; the difference between
the value of the dwelling without the defect and the value of the dwelling with the defect, as
determined and attested to by an independent appraiser, contractor, insurance adjuster, engineer or
any other similarly knowledgeable person selected by the vendee; the price reduction; the date the
construction was completed; the legal description of the dwelling; the consent of the vendee to the
waiver; and the signatures of the vendee, the vendor, and two witnesses.
A single waiver agreed to pursuant to this subdivision may not apply to more than one major
construction defect in a dwelling.
The waiver shall not be effective unless recorded with the county recorder or registrar
of titles who shall file the waiver for record.
History: 1977 c 65 s 4; 1981 c 119 s 8; 2005 c 4 s 61

327A.05 REMEDIES.
    Subdivision 1. New home warranties. Upon breach of any warranty imposed by section
327A.02, subdivision 1, the vendee shall have a cause of action against the vendor for damages
arising out of the breach, or for specific performance. Damages shall be limited to:
(a) the amount necessary to remedy the defect or breach; or
(b) the difference between the value of the dwelling without the defect and the value of
the dwelling with the defect.
    Subd. 2. Home improvement warranty. Upon breach of any warranty imposed by section
327A.02, subdivision 3, the owner shall have a cause of action against the home improvement
contractor for damages arising out of the breach, or for specific performance. Damages shall be
limited to the amount necessary to remedy the defect or breach.
History: 1977 c 65 s 5; 1981 c 119 s 9

327A.06 OTHER WARRANTIES.
The statutory warranties provided for in section 327A.02 shall be in addition to all other
warranties imposed by law or agreement. The remedies provided in section 327A.05 shall not
be construed as limiting the remedies in any action not predicated upon breach of the statutory
warranties imposed by section 327A.02.
History: 1977 c 65 s 6

327A.07 VARIATIONS.
The commissioner of administration may approve pursuant to sections 14.05 to 14.28,
variations from the provisions of sections 327A.02 and 327A.03 if the warranty program of the
vendor or the home improvement contractor requesting the variation offers at least substantially
the same protections to the vendee or owner as provided by the statutory warranties set forth
in section 327A.02.
History: 1977 c 65 s 7; 1981 c 119 s 10; 1982 c 424 s 130; 1995 c 233 art 2 s 56

327A.08 LIMITATIONS.
Notwithstanding any other provision of sections 327A.01 to 327A.07:
(a) the terms of the home improvement warranties required by sections 327A.01 to 327A.07
commence upon completion of the home improvement and the term shall not be required to be
renewed or extended if the home improvement contractor performs additional improvements
required by warranty;
(b) the home improvement warranties required by sections 327A.01 to 327A.07 shall not
include products or materials installed that are already covered by implied or written warranty; and
(c) the home improvement warranties required by sections 327A.01 to 327A.07 are intended
to be implied warranties imposing an affirmative obligation upon home improvement contractors,
and sections 327A.01 to 327A.07 do not require that written warranty instruments be created
and conveyed to the owner.
History: 1981 c 119 s 11; 1997 c 7 art 1 s 126