Title 25

SECTION 162.421

162.421 How much monetary compensation must be paid under a business lease of individually owned Indian land

§ 162.421 How much monetary compensation must be paid under a business lease of individually owned Indian land?

(a) A business lease of individually owned Indian land must require payment of not less than fair market rental before any adjustments, based on a fixed amount, a percentage of the projected income, or some other method, unless paragraphs (b) or (c) of this section permit a lesser amount. The lease must establish how the fixed amount, percentage, or combination will be calculated and the frequency at which the payments will be made.

(b) We may approve a lease of individually owned Indian land that provides for the payment of nominal compensation, or less than a fair market rental, if:

(1) The Indian landowners execute a written waiver of the right to receive fair market rental; and

(2) We determine it is in the Indian landowners' best interest, based on factors including, but not limited to:

(i) The lessee is a member of the immediate family, as defined in § 162.003, of an individual Indian landowner;

(ii) The lessee is a co-owner in the leased tract;

(iii) A special relationship or circumstances exist that we believe warrant approval of the lease;

(iv) The lease is for religious, educational, recreational, cultural, or other public purposes;

(v) We have waived the requirement for a valuation under paragraph (e) of this section.

(c) We may approve a lease that provides for payment of less than a fair market rental during the pre-development or construction periods, if we determine it is in the Indian landowners' best interest. The lease must specify the amount of the compensation and the applicable periods.

(d) We will require a valuation in accordance with § 162.422, unless:

(1) 100 percent of the Indian landowners submit to us a written request to waive the valuation requirement; or

(2) We waive the requirement under paragraph (e) of this section.

(e) If the owners of the applicable percentage of interests under § 162.012 of this part execute a business lease on behalf of all of the Indian landowners of a fractionated tract, the lease must provide that the non-consenting Indian landowners, and those on whose behalf we have consented, receive a fair market rental, as determined by a valuation, unless we waive the requirement because the tribe or lessee will construct infrastructure improvements on, or serving, the leased premises, and we determine it is in the best interest of all the landowners.

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