(A) General.
(1) Point of sale form. No owner of real property shall enter into a contract for deed, sell or transfer to another party said property unless the following requirements are met.
(a) The seller shall complete a county point of sale form. The point of sale form shall be signed by both the seller (grantor) and buyer (grantee) to the transaction. The seller shall provide the buyer with a copy of the form, along with the escrow summary form or certificate of compliance, when applicable. The seller shall file the point of sale form and any attachments with the County Auditor/Treasurer at the time of recording the transfer.
(b) The seller shall attach to the point of sale form an unexpired certificate of compliance for existing systems, or an unexpired certificate of compliance for new construction or replacement, for all septic systems on the property, unless an exemption in divisions (B) or (C) below applies.
(2) Certificate of compliance. A certificate of compliance is valid through the expiration date stated on the certificate of compliance or by the application of state statutes and Minnesota Rules which govern the use and installation of subsurface sewage treatment systems.
(B) Exempt transactions. A new certificate of compliance, as required under division (A) above, does not need to be obtained and filed with the point of sale form if the closing and property transfer involves at least one of the following circumstances:
(1) The property is vacant, or all septic systems on the property have been properly abandoned pursuant to state law;
(2) A certificate of real estate value is not required to be filed with the County Auditor/Treasurer, as provided under M.S. § 272.115, as it may be amended from time to time;
(3) The transaction is exempt from the imposition of tax pursuant to M.S. § 287.22, subparts (6), (10), (11), (12), (13), (14) and (15), as they may be amended from time to time. References to this exemption may be omitted or listed separately on the point of sale form;
(4) All dwellings and other buildings with plumbing fixtures that are connected to a municipal wastewater treatment system;
(5) The transfer is due to a tax forfeiture. The exemption of this division (B)(5) applies to the transfer of the property from the tax debtor to the taxing entity. The exemption may be omitted from the point of sale form;
(6) The sale or transfer completes a contract for deed; or
(7) A valid certificate of compliance (existing systems) or certificate of compliance (new construction or replacement) is on file with an LGU. This exemption requires the following conditions to be met:
(a) The existing certificate of compliance must be on file with the LGU;
(b) The LGU must verify the validity of the existing certificate of compliance pursuant to the applicable Minnesota Statutes and Rules which govern the regulation and inspection of subsurface sewage treatment systems prior to the closing and property transfer;
(c) The LGU must sign the point of sale form and certify the “valid thru” or expiration date for the certificate of compliance on the point of sale form; and
(d) The closing and property transfer must occur prior to the certified “valid thru” or expiration date.
(C) Closing or property transfer without the required certificate of compliance. If the compliance status is unknown or the existing septic system is non-compliant, and the seller has not brought the system into compliance prior to the closing or property transfer, the closing or property transfer may be allowed upon approval by the County Environmental Health Office, and by establishing an escrow account pursuant to § 157.05 of this chapter. The compliance inspection, upgrade or replacement shall take place on the schedule provided in the approved escrow agreement. The buyer shall be responsible for ensuring that the septic system is brought into compliance pursuant to the escrow agreement when a closing or property transfer occurs pursuant to this section.
(Ord. 11-02, passed 8-9-2011)