Minnetonka Joins Just Deeds Project

Press release from the City of Minnetonka:

March 13, 2021

The city of Minnetonka is joining the Just Deeds Project which assists property owners with the removal of discriminatory covenants from titles. Just Deeds is a broad coalition of organizations - communities, law firms, realtors and title companies - dedicated to acknowledging and addressing systemic racism in Minnesota housing.

In the early 20th century, real estate developers included covenants in deeds to prevent property from being sold, leased or occupied based on race, religion or ethnicity. Minnesota prohibited restrictive covenants based on religious faith or creed in 1919, but didn't add race or color until 1953.

Though legally unenforceable, discriminatory covenants remain listed in thousands of Minnesota property titles. The University of Minnesota's Mapping Prejudice Project has identified more than 530 Minnetonka property titles that could still contain such covenants, and more could exist due to subdivided parcels.

Volunteers will soon be available to assist residents, at no cost, to search property records, remove restrictive covenants and update records. Hennepin County has agreed to waive all recording fees.

The city attorney will also identify and investigate city-owned property that contains discriminatory covenants and will work to discharge them from the titles as well. Check back for more details as this program becomes available.

This press release was produced by the City of Minnetonka. The views expressed here are the author’s own.