(a) Whenever the city is required by statute, rule, regulation, or ordinance to send a notice to an owner of real property for the purpose of enforcing a provision of this code, the notice may include the following statement: “According to the real property records of County, you own the real property described in this notice. If you no longer own the property, you must execute an affidavit stating that you no longer own the property and stating the name and last known address of the person who acquired the property from you. The affidavit must be delivered in person or by certified mail, return receipt requested, to this office not later than the 20th day after the date you receive this notice. If you do not send the affidavit, it will be presumed that you own the property described in this notice, even if you do not.”
(b) The notice described in Subsection (a) must be delivered in person or by certified mail, return receipt requested.
(c) If the city sends a notice to the owner of the property to which the notice relates, as shown by the real property records of the county in which the property is located on or after the 10th day before the date the notice is sent, and the record owner no longer owns the property, the record owner shall execute an affidavit provided by the city with the notice stating:
(1) that the record owner no longer owns the property; and
(2) the name and last known address of the person who acquired the property from the record owner.
(d) The record owner shall deliver the affidavit in person or by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the city not later than the 20th day after the date the record owner receives the notice.
(e) If the city receives an affidavit under Subsection (d), the city shall send the appropriate notice to the person named in the affidavit as having acquired the property. A notice sent under this subsection must include the statement authorized by Subsection (a).
(f) Upon receiving an affidavit under Subsection (d), the city shall:
(1) maintain the affidavit on file for at least two years after the date the affidavit was received; and
(2) deliver a copy of the affidavit to the chief appraiser of the appraisal district in which the property is located.
(g) The city is considered to have provided notice to a property owner if the city complies with the statute, rule, regulation, or ordinance under which the notice is sent and if the city complies with:
(1) Subsection (a) and does not receive an affidavit from the record owner; or
(2) Subsection (e) and does not receive an affidavit from the person to whom the notice was sent under Subsection (e).
(h) If the city complies with this section and does not receive an affidavit under Subsection (d), the record owner is presumed to be the owner of the property for all purposes to which the notice relates.
(i) For purposes of this section, “real property” does not include a mineral interest or royalty interest. (Ord. 21025)