. . . The interest in inspections stems from a surge of relative homestead properties near the university. Students were "driving the neighbors nuts," Tran said. About 140 properties in three of the neighborhoods surrounding campus, are registered that way. Many were purchased by the parents of university students. Relative homesteading is being used at the university in a way it was never intended, said State Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis.

A son or daughter living in a home owned -- but not occupied -- by their parents fits the definition of a relative homestead. But when friends or other students are paying rent to live there, it's more like a rental property -- without the rental license and inspections. Unlike most rental properties, a relative homestead property also gets a break on property taxes. A $100,000 single-family home with a homestead exemption would owe about $1,200 in property taxes, but a duplex or apartment building of the same value would pay roughly $1,800 per year.

"We wanted to make sure they were regulated so we had the ability to check and see if they were being used inappropriately," Kahn said. . .