HB72 Summary

• Establishes the Alabama Cooperative Housing Corporation Act of 2017, creating Chapter 8C in Title 35 to regulate cooperatives as a form of property ownership where legal title is held by a corporation and occupants receive exclusive rights to their units.

• Requires all cooperative housing corporations formed after January 1, 2018 to organize as nonprofit corporations under Chapter 3 of Title 10A and file their master declaration with the Secretary of State.

• Mandates the Secretary of State maintain a public electronic database of cooperative filings searchable by cooperative name, with capability to search and retrieve master declarations.

• Authorizes cooperative housing corporations to exercise right of first refusal on unit transfers, establish liens on units for unpaid assessments (with priority over subsequent liens except taxes and certain mortgages), and allows owners to transfer shares by recording transfer documents with the Secretary of State.

• Allows cooperative housing corporations to claim homestead exemptions on owner-occupied property, with tax reductions apportioned among owners on a per-unit basis; becomes effective January 1, 2018.