S.F. 554 Section 1. Section 448.13, Code 2021, is amended to read as 1 follows: 2 448.13 Cancellation of tax sale and certificate of purchase 3 —— refund of purchase money. 4 If the county treasurer receives a verified statement from a 5 city or county stating that a parcel sold at tax sale contains 6 a building which that is abandoned, as those terms are defined 7 in section 657A.1 , prior to redemption of the parcel under 8 chapter 447 or the issuance of a tax deed for the parcel, and 9 the verified statement is accompanied by a petition filed by 10 the city or county under section 657A.10B for title to the 11 parcel, the county treasurer shall make an entry in the county 12 system canceling the sale of the parcel and shall refund the 13 purchase money to the tax sale certificate holder. 14 Sec. 2. Section 657A.10B, Code 2021, is amended to read as 15 follows: 16 657A.10B Petition by city or county for title to abandoned 17 property. 18 1. For purposes of this section, when referring to the 19 location of an abandoned building, “county” means only the area 20 of the county located outside the limits of a city. 21 1. 2. a. In lieu of the procedures in sections 657A.1A 22 through 657A.10 and 657A.10A , a city or county in which a 23 building that has been abandoned for at least six consecutive 24 months is located may petition the court to enter judgment 25 awarding title to the abandoned property to the city or county . 26 A petition filed under this section shall include the legal 27 description of the abandoned property. If more than one 28 abandoned building is located on a parcel of real estate, the 29 city or county may combine the actions into one petition. 30 The owner of the building and grounds, mortgagees of record, 31 lienholders of record, or other known persons who hold an 32 interest in the property shall be named as respondents on the 33 petition. 34 b. The petition shall be filed in the district court of the 35 -1- LSB 2614SV (1) 89 js/ns 1/ 5

S.F. 554 county in which the property is located. Service on the owner 1 and any other named respondents shall be by personal service or 2 certified mail or, if service cannot be made by either method, 3 by posting the notice in a conspicuous place on the building 4 and by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the 5 city or county . The notice shall include a statement of the 6 city’s or county’s intended use of the property or purpose for 7 acquiring the property. The action shall be in equity. 8 c. A county shall not petition to acquire title to any 9 property under this section if the property is larger than two 10 and one-half acres. 11 d. A county shall not petition to acquire title to a 12 property under this section unless the county submits to the 13 court a plan to transfer title to the property to another 14 entity no more than eighteen months after the court enters 15 judgment and order awarding title to the county under this 16 section. 17 2. 3. Not sooner than sixty days after the filing of the 18 petition, the city or county may request a hearing on the 19 petition. 20 3. 4. In determining whether a property has been abandoned, 21 the court shall consider the following for each building that 22 is located on the property and named in the petition and the 23 building grounds: 24 a. Whether any property taxes or special assessments on the 25 property were delinquent at the time the petition was filed. 26 b. Whether any utilities are currently being provided to 27 the property. 28 c. Whether the building is unoccupied by the owner or 29 lessees or licensees of the owner. 30 d. Whether the building meets the city’s or county’s housing 31 code as being fit for human habitation, occupancy, or use. 32 e. Whether the building meets the city’s or county’s 33 building code as being fit for occupancy or use. 34 f. Whether the building is exposed to the elements such that 35 -2- LSB 2614SV (1) 89 js/ns 2/ 5

S.F. 554 deterioration of the building is occurring. 1 g. Whether the building is boarded up or otherwise secured 2 from unauthorized entry. 3 h. Past efforts to rehabilitate the building and grounds. 4 i. Whether those claiming an interest in the property have, 5 prior to the filing of the petition, demonstrated a good-faith 6 effort to restore the property to productive use. 7 j. The presence of vermin, accumulation of debris, and uncut 8 vegetation. 9 k. The effort expended by the petitioning city or county to 10 maintain the building and grounds. 11 l. Past and current compliance with orders of the local 12 housing or building code official. 13 m. Any other evidence the court deems relevant. 14 4. 5. In lieu of the considerations in subsection 3, 4, if 15 the city or county can establish to the court’s satisfaction 16 that all parties with an interest in the property have received 17 proper notice and either consented to the entry of an order 18 awarding title to the property to the city or county or did 19 not make a good-faith effort to comply with the order of the 20 local housing or building code official within sixty days after 21 the filing of the petition, the court shall enter judgment 22 against the respondents granting the city or county title to 23 the property. 24 5. 6. a. If the court determines that the property has 25 been abandoned or that subsection 4 5 applies, the court shall 26 enter judgment and order awarding title to the city or county . 27 The title awarded to the city or county shall be free and clear 28 of any claims, liens, or encumbrances held by the respondents. 29 b. If the court enters judgment and order awarding title 30 to a county, the court shall enforce the county’s plan under 31 subsection 2 to transfer title to the property to another 32 entity no more than eighteen months after the court’s judgment 33 and order. 34 6. 7. If a city or county files a petition under subsection 35 -3- LSB 2614SV (1) 89 js/ns 3/ 5

S.F. 554 1 2 , naming the holder of a tax sale certificate of purchase 1 for the property as a respondent, the city or county shall also 2 file the petition, along with a verified statement declaring 3 that the property identified in the petition contains an 4 abandoned building, with the county treasurer. Upon receiving 5 the petition and verified statement, the county treasurer shall 6 make an entry in the county system canceling the sale of the 7 property and shall refund the purchase money to the tax sale 8 certificate holder. 9 8. This section does not apply to a house, barn, 10 outbuilding, or structure located on agricultural land outside 11 the limits of a city. For purposes of this subsection, 12 “agricultural land” means land suitable for use in farming. For 13 purposes of this subsection, “farming” means the cultivation of 14 land for the production of agricultural crops, the production 15 of fruit or other horticultural crops, grazing, or the 16 production of livestock. 17 EXPLANATION 18 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 19 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 20 This bill relates to the acquisition of title to abandoned 21 property in the unincorporated area of a county. Current law 22 provides a process for a city to petition a district court to 23 enter judgment awarding title to abandoned property in the city 24 to the city when the property has been abandoned for at least 25 six months. The bill authorizes a county to follow the same 26 process for property located outside of the limits of a city if 27 the property is no larger than 2.5 acres. 28 The bill requires a city or county petitioning to acquire 29 title to an abandoned property to include in a notice made to 30 an owner, other named respondents, or the public a statement 31 of the city’s or county’s intended use of the property or 32 purpose for acquiring the property. The bill requires a county 33 petitioning to acquire title to an abandoned property under the 34 bill to submit to the court a plan to transfer title to the 35 -4- LSB 2614SV (1) 89 js/ns 4/ 5

S.F. 554 property to another entity no more than 18 months after the 1 court’s judgment and order awarding title to the property, and 2 the court shall enforce such plan upon entering the judgment 3 and order. 4 The bill does not apply to a house, barn, outbuilding, or 5 structure located on agricultural land outside the limits of 6 a city. The bill defines the terms “county”, “agricultural 7 land”, and “farming”. The bill makes conforming changes 8 relating to the cancellation of a tax sale certificate for an 9 abandoned property for which a city or county has acquired 10 title. 11 -5- LSB 2614SV (1) 89 js/ns 5/ 5