Remedy to extinguish a joint interest in a contract for deed of a perpetrator of domestic abuse or sexual assault established.

Survivors can remove abusive co-buyers’ property interests

Beginning August 1, 2027, Minnesota gives unmarried victims a court process to remove an abusive co-buyer’s contract-for-deed interest. A contract for deed is a home purchase agreement with the seller. Qualifying conduct includes domestic abuse, criminal sexual assault, sexual extortion, or harassment. The process applies to petitions filed and served on or after that date, regardless of when the contract began. Victims must serve the co-buyer and current seller and record a public notice of the property case. Both have 90 days after notice to contest; if neither contests, the court must grant the petition. In contested cases, victims must show the abuse more likely happened than not. They must also prove six consecutive months when the co-buyer did not physically occupy the property and made no documented contract payments. Qualifying evidence includes protection orders, current no-contact orders, court or police records, or a prescribed statement from a qualified professional. Qualified professionals include licensed health-care professionals, domestic abuse advocates, and sexual assault counselors. Certain convictions or stays of adjudication create a legal presumption of the qualifying conduct. A court judgment transfers the removed interest to the victim and binds the seller and all buyers. The victim must record the judgment, which lists known liens but does not erase them. The removed co-buyer no longer has purchaser rights or duties to cure defaults or pay under the contract-for-deed enforcement notice process, even if the contract says otherwise.