§ 54-62. Leasing procedure.

(a)

When the urban homesteader and the commissioner of housing and community development agree on a suitable dwelling for the homesteader, the homesteader shall enter into either a lease agreement with the city or an urban homesteading agreement in combination with a deed of conditional conveyance. The forms of both types of documents will be prepared by the city attorney's office. The lease form or combination of urban homesteading agreement and deed of conditional conveyance, among other pertinent and legal data, shall:

(1)

Contain provisions for the payment of monetary encumbrances existing on the property;

(2)

Provide for a scheduled upward phasing of housing code compliance;

(3)

Include a statement on the part of the homesteader that, excepting circumstances beyond the homesteader's control, the homesteader will reside in the dwelling as a principal residence for a minimum of three years from the effective date of the agreement with the city;

(4)

Include a provision that the homesteader, during the term of the lease or combination of urban homesteading agreement and deed of conditional conveyance, obtain and maintain casualty insurance and owner's and occupier's liability insurance with a reputable insurance company licensed to do business in the state, which casualty insurance will include fire and extended coverage, vandalism and malicious mischief coverages. The amount of the casualty insurance shall be equal in amount to the value of the property, as determined by the city, and the liability insurance shall have minimum coverage in the amount of $25,000.00 per occurrence and $100,000.00 in the aggregate and name the city as coinsured;

(5)

Contain a provision that all utility bills shall be the responsibility of the homesteader; and

(6)

Provide that if its terms and conditions have not been met, upon proper notice and hearing to the urban homesteader, the lease or combination of urban homesteading agreement and deed of conditional conveyance shall be declared in default by the commissioner of housing and community development and terminated, subject to any subordination agreement.

(b)

Any urban homesteader forced to abandon the homestead by circumstances beyond the homesteader's control shall have the authority, subject to the approval of the commissioner of housing and community development, to assign the homesteader's rights under the lease or combination of urban homesteading agreement and deed of conditional conveyance to any other eligible homesteader for any consideration that the homesteader can negotiate. Any property so assigned shall be reported to the commissioner of housing and community development by the urban homesteader. Should any property be so assigned, the new urban homesteader shall be bound by the terms and conditions of the lease or combination of urban homesteading agreement and deed of conditional conveyance for the balance of the term of the instrument. Any urban homesteader who has assigned the homesteader's rights under these instruments to another individual shall be deemed ineligible for any other urban homesteading structure.

(Code 1977, § 8-5025)