2007 Minnesota Statutes

507.235 FILING CONTRACTS FOR DEED.
    Subdivision 1. Filing required. All contracts for deed executed on or after January 1, 1984,
shall be recorded by the vendee within four months in the office of the county recorder or registrar
of titles in the county in which the land is located. Any other person may record the contract.
This filing period may be extended if failure to pay the property tax due in the current year on a
parcel as required in section 272.121 has prevented filing and recording of the contract. In the
case of a parcel that was divided and classified under section 273.13 as class 1a or 1b, the period
may be extended to October 31 of the year in which the sale occurred, and in the case of a parcel
that was divided and classified under section 273.13 as class 2a, the period may be extended to
November 30 of the year in which the sale occurred.
A person receiving an assignment of a vendee's interest in a contract for deed that is
transferred on or after January 1, 1989, shall record the assignment within four months of the date
of transfer in the office of the county recorder or registrar of titles in the county in which the land
is located. For the purpose of this section, "assignment" means an assignment or other transfer of
all or part of a vendee's interest in a contract for deed. Any other person may record an assignment.
    Subd. 2. Penalty for failure to file. (a) A vendee who fails to record a contract for deed,
as required by subdivision 1, is subject to a civil penalty, payable under subdivision 5, equal
to two percent of the principal amount of the contract debt. Payments of the penalty shall be
deposited in the general fund of the county. The penalty may be enforced as a lien against the
vendee's interest in the property.
(b) A person receiving an assignment of a vendee's interest in a contract for deed who fails to
record the assignment as required by subdivision 1 is subject to a civil penalty, payable under
subdivision 5, equal to two percent of the original principal amount of the contract debt. Payments
of the penalty must be deposited in the general fund of the county. The penalty may be enforced
as a lien against the vendee's interest in the property.
    Subd. 3. Disclosure. (a) Whenever a contract for deed or assignment of a vendee's interest in
a contract for deed is not recorded and a city or county attorney requires information concerning
the contract for deed or assignment of contract for deed for the performance of the attorney's
duties on behalf of the city or county, the city or county attorney may request disclosure under
paragraph (b).
(b) A vendor, vendee, or current or former holder of a vendor's or vendee's interest in a
contract for deed, a person who collects payments made under a contract for deed, or a person in
possession of the property subject to a contract for deed shall, on written request that includes a
copy of this section made by the city or county attorney of the city or county in which the property
is located, disclose all information known to the person relating to:
(1) the identity and residence or office mailing address of the parties to the contract for
deed; and
(2) any assignments of the contract for deed.
The disclosure also must include any legible, true and correct copies of each contract for
deed and assignment documents in the possession of or reasonably available to the person
required to disclose.
The information must be disclosed in writing to the city or county attorney within 14 days of
receipt of the written request.
    Subd. 4. Criminal penalty. A person who is required to record a contract for deed or an
assignment of a contract for deed under subdivision 1 and who fails to record the contract for
deed or assignment within 14 days of receipt of the notice required under subdivision 5 is guilty
of a misdemeanor. A city in which the land is located or, if the land is not located within a city,
the county in which the land is located, may prosecute criminal violations of this section. This
criminal liability is in addition to civil liability imposed under this section.
    Subd. 5. Civil enforcement. (a) A city in which the land is located or, if the land is not
located within a city, the county in which the land is located, may enforce the provisions of this
section. The city or county may bring an action to compel the recording of a contract for deed
or any assignments of a contract for deed, an action to impose the civil penalty, or an action to
compel disclosure of information.
(b) Prior to bringing an action under this subdivision to compel recording or to impose
the penalty, or an action under subdivision 4, the city or county must provide written notice to
the person, subject to subdivision 1, of the person's duty to record the contract for deed or the
assignment. If the person so notified fails to record the contract for deed or assignment documents
within 14 days of receipt of the notice, an action may be brought.
(c) It is an affirmative defense in an enforcement action under this section that the contract
for deed or assignment document is not recordable, or that section 272.121 prohibits the recording
of the contract for deed or assignment, and that the defendant has provided to the city or county
attorney true and correct copies of the documents within 14 days after receipt of the notice.
(d) In an action brought under this subdivision, the city or county attorney may recover costs
and disbursements, including reasonable attorney fees.
History: 1983 c 342 art 2 s 25; 1984 c 593 s 45; 1984 c 655 art 1 s 69; 1988 c 566 s 1;
1988 c 719 art 19 s 25