Water bottoms leaseholders must record the lease and survey documents on time, and file certified survey copies with the department.
§426. Filing and recordation of water bottoms leases A. Leases shall be executed in duplicate and a copy of the plan of survey annexed thereto. One duplicate shall be delivered to the lessee and the other retained by the department and registered in a lease book for that purpose. B. All persons to whom water bottoms leases are granted shall, within thirty days following the granting thereof, record an executed copy of such lease or leases, together with a plat or map of survey indicating the area affected, in the conveyance records of the parish or parishes of the state of Louisiana in which the area is located. Within twenty days from such recordation, certified copies of the plat or map of survey shall be filed with the department. Transfers of leases from one person to another shall be likewise recorded and filed. C. If a lease is not recorded and filed within the time periods provided above, no third party shall be bound or affected by the provision of that lease, until such time as it is properly recorded and filed. There shall be no claim against the state of Louisiana for the disregard of the provisions of any lease not properly recorded and filed in accordance with foregoing, nor shall there by any claim against the department, the register of the state land office, or the State Mineral and Energy Board, for the disregard of the provisions of any lease which has not been properly filed with the respective agency involved. D. All leases of water bottoms for oyster culture previously granted and not filed and recorded as provided for in this Subpart, and all such leases hereafter granted, and not recorded as provided herein, shall be subordinate to the rights of the state of Louisiana, its agencies and lessees, with respect to the granting of mineral and shell leases and the exercise of rights thereunder. The renewal or extension of the term of an existing oyster lease shall not be deemed a new lease, but a renewal or extension shall be recorded no later than six months after the expiration of the term of the previous lease. Acts 1981, No. 925, §1; Acts 2009, No. 196, §9, eff. July 1, 2009; Acts 2010, No. 267, §1.