House Permitting Help
Hi Everyone,
I am the owner of a duplex located in Minneapolis, MN that I purchased in early 2025 (first time homebuyer). Until now, I have been living in the duplex with my brother. I'm moving into an apartment with my boyfriend to be closer to work, and I recently applied for a rental license through the city as I have a renter who will be moving in July 1. However, I was informed that my house is classified as a single-family in their internal system even though my house is listed as a duplex everywhere else (the county property information search, the city property information search, TISH disclosure, etc.). I wasn't aware that my house was ever a single-family home, as it is not listed as such on any public website. The house actually used to be a side by side duplex but had a fire in 2018, and the other unit was torn down based on what I can tell from historic records.
The house was remodeled in 2019 by a contractor who purchased the property. I spoke with this contractor and he said that he had all the proper permits for the duplex and was shocked that the city would suggest it was not permitted properly. I was able to find his permit for the electrical (for a duplex) through the state. My suspicion is that the city somehow lost the permits (Minneapolis isn't great when it comes to record-keeping and can be generally incompetent). I spoke with my realtor and title search company which agreed that there is nothing anywhere online which says my house is a single-family.
I'm looking for advice as what to do next. My first idea is to call the Attorney General's office or try to talk to someone higher up in the city. In my opinion, it is not fair that the city wants me to pay $5,000 in fees alone for a misclassification that was due to their own negligence (the city has been classified as a duplex in every sale and TISH report since the remodel in 2019, of which there were 2 other sales). They also want me to hire contractors to look at the upper kitchen, the bathroom fans, HVAC, and plumbing, all of which were up to code in the inspection I had as part of my purchase.
Does anyone have any suggestion into what to do next or hear of a situation like this? Should I talk to a real estate lawyer?
Thank you for any and all suggestions, I could really use your advice.