HB33 Summary

• Establishes the Alabama Cooperative Housing Corporation Act of 2016 to regulate cooperative housing ownership, where a corporation holds legal title and occupants receive exclusive possession rights to individual units.

• Requires all cooperative housing corporations formed after January 1, 2017 to organize as nonprofit corporations under the Alabama Nonprofit Corporation Act and file master declarations with the Secretary of State.

• Mandates the Secretary of State implement and maintain a publicly accessible electronic database of cooperative filings, searchable by cooperative name.

• Authorizes cooperatives to claim homestead exemptions on cooperative property, with tax reductions apportioned among owners on a per-unit basis.

• Establishes requirements for cooperative governing documents (master declarations, bylaws, and master registers), transfer of cooperative shares, liens for unpaid assessments, and rights of first refusal.