HOUSE BILL NO. 4987
September 14, 2023, Introduced by Rep. Wozniak and referred to the Committee on Regulatory
Reform.
A bill to amend 1945 PA 200, entitled
"An act to define a marketable record title to an interest in land;
to require the filing of notices of claim of interest in such land
in certain cases within a definite period of time and to require
the recording thereof; to make invalid and of no force or effect
all claims with respect to the land affected thereby where no such
notices of claim of interest are filed within the required period;
to provide for certain penalties for filing slanderous notices of
claim of interest, and to provide certain exceptions to the
applicability and operation thereof,"
by amending the title and sections 1, 1a, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8 (MCL
565.101, 565.101a, 565.102, 565.103, 565.104, 565.105, and
565.108), sections 1, 2, 4, and 5 as amended by 2018 PA 572,
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section 1a as added by 1997 PA 154, and section 3 as amended by
2020 PA 294, and by adding section 5a.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
1 TITLE
2 An act to define a marketable record title to an interest in
3 land; to require the filing recording of notices of claim of
4 interest in such land in certain cases within a definite period of
5 time; and to require the recording thereof; to make invalid and of
6 no force or effect all claims with respect to the land affected
7 thereby where no such notices of claim of interest are filed within
8 the required period and to provide certain exceptions; and to
9 provide for certain penalties for filing recording slanderous
10 notices of claim of interest. , and to provide certain exceptions
11 to the applicability and operation thereof.
12 Sec. 1. Any person, that has the legal capacity to own land in
13 this state, that has an unbroken chain of title of record to any
14 interest in land for 20 years for mineral interests and 40 years
15 for other interests, is at the end of the applicable period
16 considered to have a marketable record title to that interest,
17 subject only to claims to that interest and defects of title as
18 that are not extinguished or barred by the application of this act
19 and subject also to any interests and defects as that are inherent
20 in the provisions and limitations contained in the muniments of
21 which the chain of record title is formed and that are recorded
22 within 2 years after the effective date of the amendatory act that
23 added section 2(2) March 29, 2019 or during the 20-year period for
24 mineral interests and the 40-year period for other interests.
25 However, a person is not considered to have a marketable record
26 title by reason of under this act if the land in which the interest
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1 exists is in the hostile possession of another.
2 Sec. 1a. As used in this act: , "mineral interest"
3 (a) "Claimant" means a person holding an interest, claim, or
4 charge on land and recording a notice of claim under section 3 with
5 the office of the register of deeds of the county in which that
6 land is located.
7 (b) "Mineral interest" means an interest in minerals in any
8 land if the interest in minerals is owned by a person other than
9 the owner of the surface of the land. Mineral interest does not
10 include an interest in oil or gas or an interest in sand, gravel,
11 limestone, clay, or marl.
12 (c) "Person" means an individual, corporation, limited
13 liability company, partnership, firm, organization, governmental
14 entity, or other legal entity.
15 (d) "Property owners' association" means any of the following:
16 (i) A person or an unincorporated association with a voting
17 membership that is made up of owners of the land or their agents,
18 or a combination of the owners of the land and their agents, that
19 is any of the following:
20 (A) Responsible for the operation or management of the land.
21 (B) Authorized to enforce a document recorded with the office
22 of the register of deeds of the county in which the land is located
23 that subjects the land to any land-use restriction or obligation.
24 (ii) An association of co-owners as that term is defined in
25 section 3 of the condominium act, 1978 PA 59, MCL 559.103.
26 (e) "Subdivision restrictions" means a declaration or other
27 instrument or agreement executed and recorded on or after January
28 1, 1950 that provides for the establishment of a property owners'
29 association with respect to which an owner of a lot or other parcel
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1 of land that is the subject of the declaration or other instrument
2 or agreement is a member.
3 Sec. 2. (1) A person is considered to have has an unbroken
4 chain of title to an interest in land as provided in section 1 if
5 the official public records disclose office of the register of
6 deeds of the county in which the land is located discloses either
7 of the following:
8 (a) A conveyance or other title transaction not less than 20
9 years in the past for mineral interests and 40 years for other
10 interests, which conveyance or other title transaction purports to
11 create the interest in that person, with nothing appearing of
12 record purporting to divest that person of the purported interest.
13 (b) A conveyance or other title transaction not less than 20
14 years in the past for mineral interests and 40 years for other
15 interests, which conveyance or other title transaction purports to
16 create the interest in some other person and other conveyances or
17 title transactions of record by which the purported interest has
18 become vested in the person first referred to in this section, with
19 nothing appearing of record purporting to divest the person first
20 referred to in this section of the purported interest.
21 (2) For purposes of this section, except as to mineral
22 interests, a conveyance or other title transaction in the chain of
23 title purports to divest an interest in the property land only if
24 it creates does either of the following:
25 (a) Appears to create the divestment. or if it
26 (b) Except as otherwise provided in section 5a(1),
27 specifically refers by liber and page or other county-assigned
28 unique identifying number to a previously recorded conveyance or
29 other title transaction that created appeared to create the
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1 divestment.
2 Sec. 3. (1) Marketable record title is held by a person and is
3 taken by his or her the person's successors in interest free and
4 clear of any and all interests, claims, and charges the existence
5 of which depends in whole or in part on any act, transaction,
6 event, or omission that occurred before the 20-year period for
7 mineral interests, and the 40-year period for other interests, and
8 all such interests, claims, and charges are void and of no effect
9 at law or in equity. However, an interest, claim, or charge may be
10 preserved and kept effective by filing for record recording within
11 5 years after March 29, 2019 or during the 20-year period for
12 mineral interests and or the 40-year period for other interests , a
13 notice in writing, verified by oath, setting forth the nature of
14 the claim in the manner required by of claim that satisfies the
15 requirements of section 5. However, an interest, claim, or charge
16 that became void under this subsection before the effective date of
17 the amendatory act that added section 5a or that expires or
18 terminates based on its own terms is not effective and is not
19 preserved by recording a notice of claim under this subsection.
20 (2) A disability or lack of knowledge of any kind on the part
21 of anyone does not suspend the running of the 20-year period for
22 mineral interests or the 40-year period for other interests.
23 (3) For the purpose of recording notices of claim for
24 homestead interests, the date from which the 20-year period for
25 mineral interests and the 40-year period for other interests run is
26 the date of recording of the instrument that contains the basis for
27 the claim.
28 (4) A notice under this section may be filed for record
29 recorded by the any of the following:
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1 (a) The claimant. or by any
2 (b) A property owners' association.
3 (c) Any other person acting on behalf of any claimant if 1 or
4 more of the following conditions exist:
5 (i) (a) The claimant is under a disability.
6 (ii) (b) The claimant is unable to assert a claim on his or her
7 own behalf.
8 (iii) (c) The claimant is 1 of a class but whose identity cannot
9 be established or is uncertain at the time of filing recording the
10 notice of claim. for record.
11 (5) The recording of a notice of claim under this section by a
12 claimant that meets all the requirements of this act to preserve
13 the claimant's rights in the land is an effective notice under this
14 section for any other person whose rights originate from the same
15 document as the claimant's.
16 Sec. 4. (1) This act must not be applied to do any of the
17 following:
18 (a) Bar a lessor or his or her successor as reversioner of his
19 or her right to possession on the expiration of a lease or a lessee
20 or his or her successor of his or her rights in and to a lease.
21 (b) Bar any interest of a mortgagor or a mortgagee or interest
22 in the nature of that of a mortgagor or mortgagee until after the
23 instrument under which the interest is claimed has become due and
24 payable, except if the instrument has no due date expressed, or if
25 the instrument has been executed by a railroad, railroad bridge,
26 tunnel, or union depot company, or a public utility or public
27 service company.
28 (c) Bar or extinguish an easement or interest in the nature of
29 an easement, the existence of which is clearly observable. by
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1 physical evidences of its use.
2 (d) Bar or extinguish an easement or interest in the nature of
3 an easement, or any rights appurtenant to the easement or interest
4 granted, excepted, or reserved by a recorded instrument creating
5 the easement or interest, including any rights for future use, if
6 the existence of the easement or interest is evidenced by the
7 location beneath, on, or above any part of the land described in
8 the instrument of a pipe, valve, road, wire, cable, conduit, duct,
9 sewer, track, pole, tower, or other physical facility and whether
10 or not the existence of the facility is observable, by reason
11 because of the failure to file record the notice required by this
12 act.
13 (e) Bar or extinguish a conservation easement. As used in this
14 subdivision, "conservation easement" means that term as defined in
15 section 2140 of the natural resources and environmental protection
16 act, 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.2140.
17 (f) Bar or extinguish the rights of any remainderman on the
18 expiration of a life estate or trust.
19 (g) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (i), bar or
20 extinguish any subdivision restrictions.
21 (h) Bar or extinguish any recorded master deed for a
22 condominium or any recorded amendment to that condominium master
23 deed.
24 (i) Preserve a prohibited restriction in a subdivision
25 restriction, a deed, or other instruments. As used in this
26 subdivision, "prohibited restriction" means a restriction,
27 covenant, or condition, including a right of entry or possibility
28 of reverter, that violates the fair housing act, title VIII of the
29 civil rights act of 1968, Public Law 90-284.
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1 (2) This act does not affect any right, title, or interest in
2 land owned by the United States, or any right, title, or interest
3 in any land owned by this state, or by any department, commission,
4 or political subdivision thereof.of this state.
5 (3) This act does not affect any oil and gas lease, or other
6 interest in oil or gas, owned by a person other than the owner of
7 the surface, or any storage agreement or other interest in
8 subsurface storage formations owned by a person other than the
9 owner of the surface.
10 Sec. 5. (1) To be effective and to be entitled to record, a
11 notice of claim under section 3 must contain an accurate and full
12 description of all the land affected by the notice , which and the
13 description must be set forth in particular terms and not by
14 general inclusions. However, except as to mineral interests, if the
15 claim is founded on a recorded instrument, the notice must also
16 state the liber and page or other county-assigned unique
17 identifying number of the recorded instrument the claim is founded
18 on. The failure to include the liber and page or other county-
19 assigned unique identifying number renders the recording
20 ineffective and the claim unpreserved. The notice of claim must
21 contain all of the following:
22 (a) The claimant's name.
23 (b) The claimant's mailing address.
24 (c) The interest claimed to be preserved.
25 (d) Except as to mineral interests, the liber and page or
26 other unique identification number of the assigned by the office of
27 the register of deeds for the recorded instrument creating the
28 interest to be preserved.
29 (e) The legal description of the real property land affected
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1 by the claimed interest.
2 (f) The claimant's signature.
3 (g) An acknowledgment in the form required by the uniform
4 recognition of acknowledgments act, 1969 PA 57, MCL 565.261 to
5 565.270, and section 27 of the Michigan notary public act, law on
6 notarial acts, 2003 PA 238, MCL 55.287.MCL 55.261 to 55.315.
7 (h) The drafter's name and address.
8 (i) An address to which the document can be returned.
9 (j) The name and mailing address of all the owners of the land
10 that claim to be affected by the notice of claim. For purposes of
11 this subdivision, the names and mailing addresses of persons in
12 whose names the land is assessed on the last completed tax
13 assessment roll of the county in which the land is located at the
14 time of recording are the owners of the land.
15 (2) The following form may be used and is sufficient to record
16 a notice of claim under section 3, although this subsection does
17 not preclude the use of a form that is substantially similar and
18 meets the requirements of this section:
19 NOTICE
20 Claimant: _________________________________________________________
21 Whose address is __________________________________________________
22 hereby claims the following described interest: ___________________
23 ___________________________________________________________________
24 ___________________________________________________________________
25 which was originally created by _____________________, recorded in
26 liber _________, on page _________, _________ county records, and
27 affects land located in the _________________ of _________________,
28 County of _________________, state of Michigan, and more fully
29 described as:
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1 ___________________________________________________________________
2 ___________________________________________________________________
3 ___________________________________________________________________
4 (Leave out a description of any restrictions, covenants, or
5 conditions, including a right of entry or possibility of reverter,
6 that violate the fair housing act, title VIII of the civil rights
7 act of 1968, Public Law 90-284.)
8 Commonly known as:___________________________
9 Tax Item No. ________________________________
11 The owner(s) of land affected by this notice, for purposes of MCL
12 565.105(1)(j) is/are:
13 ___________________________________________________________________
14 whose address(es) is/are:__________________________________________
15 ___________________________________________________________________
16 ___________________________________________<>
17 STATE OF _________________)
18 __________________________) SS.
19 COUNTY OF ________________)
20 This instrument was acknowledged before me on ___20__, by
21 <>
22 ___________________________________________________________________
23 ____________________________________________________, Notary Public
24 ___________________________________________________County, Michigan
25 My Commission expires:____________
26 Acting in ________ County, Michigan
27 Drafted