Iowa Code § 446.19A - Purchase by county or city for use as housing

1. The board of supervisors of a county may adopt an ordinance authorizing the county and each city in the county to bid on and purchase delinquent taxes and to assign tax sale certificates of abandoned property or vacant lots. This section may only be used by a county or by a city in the county if such an ordinance is in effect. 2. On the day of the regular tax sale or any continuance or adjournment of the tax sale, the county or a city may bid for abandoned property assessed as residential property or as commercial multifamily housing property or for a vacant lot a sum equal to the total amount due. Money shall not be paid by the county or city for the purchase, but each of the tax-levying and tax-certifying bodies having any interest in the taxes shall be charged with the total amount due the tax-levying or tax-certifying body as its just share of the purchase price. Prior to the purchase, the county or city shall file with the county treasurer a verified statement that a parcel to be purchased is abandoned property and that the parcel is suitable for use as housing following rehabilitation or that a parcel to be purchased is a vacant lot. 3. If after the date that a parcel is sold pursuant to this chapter, or after the date that a parcel is sold under section 446.18, the parcel assessed as residential property or as commercial multifamily housing property is identified as abandoned or as a vacant lot pursuant to a verified statement filed with the county treasurer by a city or county in the form set forth in subsection 2, a city or county may require the assignment of the tax sale certificate that had been issued for such parcel by paying to the holder of such certificate the total amount due on the date the assignment of the certificate is made to the county or city and recorded with the county treasurer. If a certificate holder fails to assign the certificate of purchase to the city or county, the county treasurer is authorized to issue a duplicate certificate of purchase, which shall take the place of the original certificate, and assign the duplicate certificate to the city or county. If the certificate is not assigned by the county or city pursuant to subsection 4, the county or city, whichever is applicable, is liable for the tax sale interest that was due the certificate holder pursuant to section 447.1, as of the date of assignment. 4. a. The city or county may assign the tax sale certificate obtained pursuant to this section. Persons who purchase certificates from the city or county under this subsection are liable for the total amount due the certificate holder pursuant to section 447.1. b. All persons who purchase certificates from the city or county under this subsection shall demonstrate the intent to rehabilitate the abandoned property for habitation or build a residential structure on the vacant lot if the property is not redeemed. In the alternative, the county or city may, if title to the property has vested in the county or city under section 448.1, dispose of the property in accordance with section 331.361 or 364.7, as applicable. 5. For purposes of this section: a. “Abandoned property” means a lot or parcel containing a building which is used or intended to be used for residential purposes and which has remained vacant and has been in violation of the housing code of the city in which the property is located or of the housing code applicable in the county in which the property is located if outside the limits of a city, for a period of six consecutive months. b. “Vacant lot” means a lot or parcel located in a city or outside the limits of a city in a county that contains no buildings or structures and that is zoned to allow for residential structures. 96 Acts, ch 1204, §31; 99 Acts, ch 29, §1, 3; 2004 Acts, ch 1165, §5 – 7, 11, 12; 2005 Acts, ch 34, §16, 17, 26; 2007 Acts, ch 54, §38; 2007 Acts, ch 126, §72 Referred to in §446.19B, 447.9