Subd. 6.

Leasehold cooperatives.

When one or more dwellings or one or more buildings
which each contain several dwelling units is owned by a nonprofit corporation subject to
the provisions of chapter 317A and qualifying under section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) of the
Internal Revenue Code, or a limited partnership which corporation or partnership operates
the property in conjunction with a cooperative association, and has received public financing,
homestead treatment may be claimed by the cooperative association on behalf of the members
of the cooperative for each dwelling unit occupied by a member of the cooperative. The
cooperative association must provide the assessor with the Social Security numbers new text beginor
individual tax identification numbers new text endof those members. To qualify for the treatment provided
by this subdivision, the following conditions must be met:

(a) the cooperative association must be organized under chapter 308A or 308B and all
voting members of the board of directors must be resident tenants of the cooperative and
must be elected by the resident tenants of the cooperative;

(b) the cooperative association must have a lease for occupancy of the property for a
term of at least 20 years, which permits the cooperative association, while not in default on
the lease, to participate materially in the management of the property, including material
participation in establishing budgets, setting rent levels, and hiring and supervising a
management agent;

(c) to the extent permitted under state or federal law, the cooperative association must
have a right under a written agreement with the owner to purchase the property if the owner
proposes to sell it; if the cooperative association does not purchase the property it is offered
for sale, the owner may not subsequently sell the property to another purchaser at a price
lower than the price at which it was offered for sale to the cooperative association unless
the cooperative association approves the sale;

(d) a minimum of 40 percent of the cooperative association's members must have incomes
at or less than 60 percent of area median gross income as determined by the United States
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under section 142(d)(2)(B) of the Internal
Revenue Code. For purposes of this clause, "member income" means the income of a member
existing at the time the member acquires cooperative membership;

(e) if a limited partnership owns the property, it must include as the managing general
partner a nonprofit organization operating under the provisions of chapter 317A and
qualifying under section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code and the limited
partnership agreement must provide that the managing general partner have sufficient powers
so that it materially participates in the management and control of the limited partnership;

(f) prior to becoming a member of a leasehold cooperative described in this subdivision,
a person must have received notice that (1) describes leasehold cooperative property in plain
language, including but not limited to the effects of classification under this subdivision on
rents, property taxes and tax credits or refunds, and operating expenses, and (2) states that
copies of the articles of incorporation and bylaws of the cooperative association, the lease
between the owner and the cooperative association, a sample sublease between the
cooperative association and a tenant, and, if the owner is a partnership, a copy of the limited
partnership agreement, can be obtained upon written request at no charge from the owner,
and the owner must send or deliver the materials within seven days after receiving any
request;

(g) if a dwelling unit of a building was occupied on the 60th day prior to the date on
which the unit became leasehold cooperative property described in this subdivision, the
notice described in paragraph (f) must have been sent by first class mail to the occupant of
the unit at least 60 days prior to the date on which the unit became leasehold cooperative
property. For purposes of the notice under this paragraph, the copies of the documents
referred to in paragraph (f) may be in proposed version, provided that any subsequent
material alteration of those documents made after the occupant has requested a copy shall
be disclosed to any occupant who has requested a copy of the document. Copies of the
articles of incorporation and certificate of limited partnership shall be filed with the secretary
of state after the expiration of the 60-day period unless the change to leasehold cooperative
status does not proceed;

(h) the county attorney of the county in which the property is located must certify to the
assessor that the property meets the requirements of this subdivision;

(i) the public financing received must be from at least one of the following sources:

(1) tax increment financing proceeds used for the acquisition or rehabilitation of the
building or interest rate write-downs relating to the acquisition of the building;

(2) government issued bonds exempt from taxes under section 103 of the Internal Revenue
Code, the proceeds of which are used for the acquisition or rehabilitation of the building;

(3) programs under section 221(d)(3), 202, or 236, of Title II of the National Housing
Act;

(4) rental housing program funds under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of
1937, as amended, or the market rate family graduated payment mortgage program funds
administered by the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency that are used for the acquisition
or rehabilitation of the building;

(5) low-income housing credit under section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code;

(6) public financing provided by a local government used for the acquisition or
rehabilitation of the building, including grants or loans from (i) federal community
development block grants; (ii) HOME block grants; or (iii) residential rental bonds issued
under chapter 474A; or

(7) other rental housing program funds provided by the Minnesota Housing Finance
Agency for the acquisition or rehabilitation of the building;

(j) at the time of the initial request for homestead classification or of any transfer of
ownership of the property, the governing body of the municipality in which the property is
located must hold a public hearing and make the following findings:

(1) that the granting of the homestead treatment of the apartment's units will facilitate
safe, clean, affordable housing for the cooperative members that would otherwise not be
available absent the homestead designation;

(2) that the owner has presented information satisfactory to the governing body showing
that the savings garnered from the homestead designation of the units will be used to reduce
tenant's rents or provide a level of furnishing or maintenance not possible absent the
designation; and

(3) that the requirements of paragraphs (b), (d), and (i) have been met.

Homestead treatment must be afforded to units occupied by members of the cooperative
association and the units must be assessed as provided in subdivision 3, provided that any
unit not so occupied shall be classified and assessed pursuant to the appropriate class. No
more than three acres of land may, for assessment purposes, be included with each dwelling
unit that qualifies for homestead treatment under this subdivision.

When dwelling units no longer qualify under this subdivision, the current owner must
notify the assessor within 60 days. Failure to notify the assessor within 60 days shall result
in the loss of benefits under this subdivision for taxes payable in the year that the failure is
discovered. For these purposes, "benefits under this subdivision" means the difference in
the net tax capacity of the units which no longer qualify as computed under this subdivision
and as computed under the otherwise applicable law, times the local tax rate applicable to
the building for that taxes payable year. Upon discovery of a failure to notify, the assessor
shall inform the auditor of the difference in net tax capacity for the building or buildings in
which units no longer qualify, and the auditor shall calculate the benefits under this
subdivision. Such amount, plus a penalty equal to 100 percent of that amount, shall then be
demanded of the building's owner. The property owner may appeal the county's determination
by serving copies of a petition for review with county officials as provided in section 278.01
and filing a proof of service as provided in section 278.01 with the Minnesota Tax Court
within 60 days of the date of the notice from the county. The appeal shall be governed by
the Tax Court procedures provided in chapter 271, for cases relating to the tax laws as
defined in section 271.01, subdivision 5; disregarding sections 273.125, subdivision 5, and
278.03, but including section 278.05, subdivision 2. If the amount of the benefits under this
subdivision and penalty are not paid within 60 days, and if no appeal has been filed, the
county auditor shall certify the amount of the benefit and penalty to the succeeding year's
tax list to be collected as part of the property taxes on the affected buildings.

Subd. 13.

Homestead application.

(a) A person who meets the homestead requirements
under subdivision 1 must file a homestead application with the county assessor to initially
obtain homestead classification.

(b) The commissioner shall prescribe the content, format, and manner of the homestead
application required to be filed under this chapter pursuant to section 270C.30. The
application must clearly inform the taxpayer that this application must be signed by all
owners who occupy the property or by the qualifying relative and returned to the county
assessor in order for the property to receive homestead treatment.

(c) Every property owner applying for homestead classification must furnish to the
county assessor the Social Security number new text beginor individual tax identification number new text endof each
occupant who is listed as an owner of the property on the deed of record, the name and
address of each owner who does not occupy the property, and the name and Social Security
number new text beginor individual tax identification number new text endof the spouse of each occupying owner. The
application must be signed by each owner who occupies the property and by each owner's
spouse who occupies the property, or, in the case of property that qualifies as a homestead
under subdivision 1, paragraph (c), by the qualifying relative.

If a property owner occupies a homestead, the property owner's spouse may not claim
another property as a homestead unless the property owner and the property owner's spouse
file with the assessor an affidavit or other proof required by the assessor stating that the
property qualifies as a homestead under subdivision 1, paragraph (e).

Owners or spouses occupying residences owned by their spouses and previously occupied
with the other spouse, either of whom fail to include the other spouse's name and Social
Security number new text beginor individual tax identification number new text endon the homestead application or