S.B. 191 Enrolled

TOWNSITE STATUTE MODIFICATION
1998 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Sponsor: Robert M. Muhlestein
AN ACT RELATING TO REAL ESTATE; AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER OF LEGAL
TITLE TO LAND WITHOUT THE PAYMENT OF TAXES ON THE LAND IN CASES
WHERE NO TAXES HAVE BEEN ASSESSED AGAINST THE LAND; AND MAKING
TECHNICAL CHANGES.
This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
AMENDS:
57-7-19, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 57-7-19 is amended to read:
57-7-19. Possession for ten years entitles claimant to conveyance.
(1) Whenever any [lot, piece or] parcel of land [shall have] has passed from the United
States to the district judge of any county in this state or to the probate judge of any county in the
late territory of Utah, under and by virtue of the provisions of an Act of Congress entitled "An act
for the relief of the inhabitants of cities and towns upon the public lands," approved March 2,
1867, or any amendments thereto, and there is no record of any conveyance from [such] the judge
or his successor in office to the claimants thereof, any person, who by himself or by or through his
predecessors in interest [shall have] has had continuous and exclusive possession of [such lot,
piece or] the parcel of land for the period of ten years before the filing of the petition hereinafter
mentioned and who [shall have] has paid the taxes thereon during said time, shall be [deemed]
considered the rightful owner of [such] the land[, and it]. It shall be conclusively presumed that
he has complied with all of the provisions of law for obtaining title thereto[; and such]. The person
may at any time apply to the judge of the district court of the county wherein said land may be
situated for a conveyance of the legal title to [such] the land to him[, and such]. That judge [of the
district court] is hereby vested with power and authority to execute [such] the conveyance and
carry out the trust, and [he] the judge shall execute a conveyance to [such] the person of [such lot,

piece or] the parcel of land without any expense to [such] the person, except the ordinary costs of
court. [Such] The conveyance, when so executed by any judge of the district court, shall pass to
[such] the person all the right, title, and interest so held in trust to [such lot, piece or] the parcel of
land to all intents and purposes and with the same effect as if a proper conveyance had been executed
after proper proceedings in the manner provided by law.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection(1), where no taxes have been assessed
against any parcel of land, payment of taxes is not required for the applicant to be considered the
rightful owner of the land. However, in a case where no taxes have been assessed against the land
in question, legal title shall not be conveyed to the applicant unless the court finds that:
(a) the application is not opposed by any of the landowners that are adjacent to the parcel
of land in question; and
(b) the transfer of legal title to the applicant is not detrimental to the public interest.

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