Opinion #7005

The following opinion is presented on-line for informational use only and does not replace the official version. (Mich Dept of Attorney General Web Site - www.ag.state.mi.us)

STATE OF MICHIGAN

FRANK J. KELLEY, ATTORNEY GENERAL

LAND DIVISION ACT:

PLATS:

REAL ESTATE:

Land Division Act requirement that deed recite whether it conveys right to make further divisions exempt from platting requirements

A grantor, when conveying his or her entire interest in unplatted land, where no divisions from the parcel have been made since March 31, 1997, is not required by the Land Division Act to include in the deed of conveyance a statement on whether the right to make further exempt divisions is being conveyed. The right to make further exempt divisions is conveyed with the land.

Opinion No. 7005

December 30, 1998

Honorable Pat Gagliardi
State Representative
The Capitol
Lansing, MI

Honorable Michael E. Nye
State Representative
The Capitol
Lansing, MI

You have asked whether a grantor, when conveying his or her entire interest in unplatted land, where no divisions from the parcel have been made since March 31, 1997, is required by the Land Division Act to include in the deed of conveyance a statement on whether the right to make further exempt divisions is being conveyed.

The Land Division Act,¹ 1967 PA 288, MCL 560.101 et seq; MSA 26.430(101) et seq (Act), regulates the division of land. Section 102(d) of the Act defines the term division to mean:

[T]he partitioning or splitting of a parcel or tract of land by the proprietor thereof or by his or her heirs, executors, administrators, legal representatives, successors, or assigns for the purpose of sale, or lease of more than 1 year, or of building development that results in 1 or more parcels of less than 40 acres or the equivalent, and that satisfies the requirements of sections 108 and 109.

Section 102 also defines the terms exempt split and [s]ubdivide and subdivision. All of these definitions have in common the partitioning or splitting of a parcel or tract of land. Section 102(i) defines the terms [p]arent parcel and parent tract as a parcel or tract "lawfully in existence on the effective date of the amendatory act that added . . . subdivision[(i)]" to the Act. Amendatory 1996 PA 591 became effective on March 31, 1997.

Amendatory 1996 PA 591 added a new section 108 to provide that a division of land is not subject to the platting requirements of the Act but the same parent parcel or parent tract could not, without platting, be divided into more than a further specific number of parcels depending upon the size of the parcel or tract. New section 109(3) of the Act, as added by 1996 PA 591, provides, in pertinent part:

A person shall not sell a parcel of unplatted land unless the deed contains a statement as to whether the right to make further divisions exempt from the platting requirements of this act under this section and section 108 is proposed to be conveyed. The statement shall be in substantially the following form: "The grantor grants to the grantee the right to make [insert number] division(s) under section 108 of the land division act, Act No. 288 of the Public Acts of 1967." In the absence of a statement conforming to the requirements of this subsection, the right to make divisions under section 108(2), (3), and (4) stays with the remainder of the parent tract or parent parcel retained by the grantor.

(Emphasis added.)

The Act's meaning of the term division contains no ambiguity requiring interpretation or construction. It should, therefore, be applied as written by the Legislature. People v Ewing, Jr., 101 Mich App 51, 59; 301 NW2d 8 (1980).

The proprietor of a parcel of land who has not divided that parcel by conveying a portion of it on or after March 31, 1997, may convey the entire parcel without complying with sections 108 and 109, since by conveying the entire parcel no division is being made.² The Act, therefore, does not apply to such conveyances. The section 108 limitation on the number of parcels that may be created by the proprietor and the section 109(3) language required to be included in the deed of conveyance as to the right of the grantee to make further divisions depend on the act of division. Since your question is premised on no divisions being made by the proprietor on or after March 31, 1997, and no portion of the parent parcel or parent tract is retained by the grantor, sections 108 and 109(3) of the Act do not apply, and the right to make further divisions is conveyed with the land.

It is my opinion, therefore, that a grantor, when conveying his or her entire interest in unplatted land, where no divisions from the parcel have been made since March 31, 1997, is not required by the Land Division Act to include in the deed of conveyance a statement on whether the right to make further exempt divisions is being conveyed. The right to make further exempt divisions is conveyed with the land.

FRANK J. KELLEY
Attorney General

¹ Through 1996 PA 591, the Legislature made several amendments to the act, including changing its title from the Subdivision Control Act of 1967 to the Land Division Act.

² Your question does not address, and this opinion does not consider, restrictive covenants which a grantor's conveyance may affirmatively impose upon further divisions of a parcel or tract being conveyed.