Stearns County Ordinanace #422 -- Transfer of Properties
(3) The transfer is a foreclosure or tax forfeiture, i.e. the transaction from the former property owner to the
secured entity.
A. Whenever ownership of land upon which a dwelling is located or a tract of land upon which a structure that is required
to have an SSTS is transferred, the following requirements shall be met:
(1) A compliance inspection must be performed and a Certificate of Compliance issued unless one has been issued
within the previous three (3) years for an SSTS older than five years or an original Certificate of Compliance is on file
with the Department for an SSTS less than five years old prior to the intended sale or transfer of the property, unless
evidence is found identifying an Imminent Threat to Public Health and Safety.
(2) The seller of the property must disclose in writing information about the status and location of all known SSTS on
the property to the buyer on a form provided by the Department.
(3) The Certification shall be filed with the County Auditor-Treasurer.
B. The compliance portion of the Certificate of Compliance need not be completed if the sale or transfer involves the
following circumstances:
(1) The affected tract of land is without buildings or contains no dwellings or other buildings with plumbing
fixtures.
(2) The transfer does not require the filing of a Certificate of Real Estate Value, as described in Minnesota
Statutes, section 272.115, subdivision 1; or successor statues.
9.2.3 Transfer of Properties
E. The issuance of an SSTS Construction Permits, Certificates of Compliance or Notices of Noncompliance shall not be
construed to represent a guarantee or warranty of an SSTS operation or effectiveness. Such certificates signify that the
system in question is, or has been, designed and installed in compliance or non-compliance with the provisions of this
Ordinance at a specific point in time.
(4) The sale or transfer completes a contract for deed or purchase agreement entered into prior to January 22,
1998. This subsection applies only to the original vendor and vendee on such a contract.
(5) Any dwellings or other buildings that are connected exclusively to a municipal wastewater treatment
system, permitted by the State of MN (SDS permit), or by ESD w/ an OP & reporting requirements.
(6) In the case where a contract for deed is paid off or otherwise satisfied in its entirety and the SSTS servicing
the property was certified or replaced at the time the original contract for deed was entered. This exemption
only applies to the original vendor and vendee on such a contract for deed.
(7) When title to real property is held jointly by a husband and wife and one spouse becomes deceased and
the only change that occurs is to remove the deceased spouse’s name from the title.
C. All property conveyances subject to this Ordinance occurrin
durin
the period between December 1st and April 15th,
when an SSTS compliance cannot be determined due to frozen soil conditions, shall require a winter agreement, which
includes agreement to complete a compliance inspection by the following June 15th. If, upon inspection, the SSTS is found
to be non-compliant, the system must be upgraded in accordance with Section 5.2.3 or 5.2.4 of this Ordinance.
D. The responsibility for filin
the completed compliance portion of the Certificate of Compliance under Section 9.2.3 A.
(3) of this Ordinance or for upgrading a system found to be non-compliant shall be determined by the buyer and seller.
(8) When title to real property is held jointly by a husband and wife and through a divorce decree one of the
said parties is removed from the title with the other said party retaining ownership of the property.