An Act To Address the Detrimental Effects of Abandoned Property
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 30-A MRSA §3106-A is enacted to read:
§ 3106-A. Municipal authority to manage abandoned properties
1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.
A. "Property defects" means the conditions that, in the judgment of the municipality, contribute to blight as a result of the continued lack of care, maintenance or security of a property.
B. "Responsible parties" includes the owner of record and each record holder of any mortgage on the real estate of an abandoned property.
2. Municipal authority. In accordance with this section, the municipal officers may regulate the care, maintenance and security of property determined to be abandoned under subsection 5. The authorities established by this section may not be construed to replace or supplant any municipal authority to provide for basic necessities under Title 14, section 6026-A or address dangerous properties under Title 17, chapter 91, subchapter 4. Municipal action under this section may not be interpreted to bestow any responsibility on the municipality to safeguard or otherwise preserve or protect abandoned property.
3. Adoption by ordinance. The procedures and standards governing the implementation of a municipality's authority to manage certain abandoned properties pursuant to this section must be established by municipal ordinance.
A. The ordinance may require responsible parties to assume maintenance responsibilities for abandoned properties.
B. The ordinance may provide that the municipal officers or their designee may take action to remedy property defects at an abandoned property if the responsible parties fail to address the property defects after notice and an opportunity to comply and that the municipality may recover its costs from the responsible parties.
4. Notice of foreclosure; designation of representative. When initiating a foreclosure action on a property, a foreclosing mortgagee shall notify the municipality where the property is situated and designate an in-state representative responsible for the property. This notification and designation requirement applies regardless of whether the municipality has adopted an ordinance pursuant to this section.
5. Determination of abandonment. Before a municipality may act under an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section, either a court or the municipal officers must have determined that the property has been abandoned according to the evidence of abandonment described in Title 14, section 6326.
A. The municipal officers shall provide notice to the responsible parties and hold a hearing before making a determination that a property has been abandoned. The notice of hearing must:
(1) State the scheduled date, time and location of the hearing; and
(2) Inform the responsible parties that, upon a finding of abandonment, the municipality may require the responsible parties to correct any property defects within 30 days of issuing a notice to correct.
B. A hearing under paragraph A may be held no less than 7 days after receipt or publication of the notice.
C. An order issued by the municipality determining that a property is abandoned may be combined with the notice to correct set forth in subsection 6.
6. Notice to correct. If the municipal officers or their designee determines that the responsible parties have violated an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section by failing to remedy property defects at an abandoned property, the municipal officers or their designee may give written notice to the responsible parties to correct the property defects. The municipal notice to correct under this section must:
A. Identify the property defects;
B. State the municipality's intention to take appropriate preventive or corrective measures to address the property defects;
C. State those measures that the municipality will take if the responsible parties have not remedied the property defects identified within 30 days of the notice to correct;
D. State the municipality's intention to subsequently recover the municipality's direct, legal and administrative costs from the responsible parties; and
E. Inform the responsible parties of their ability to avert the municipality's actions by remedying the property defects as identified in the notice.
7. Notice process. A notice required to be given under this section is governed by the following.
A. Notice must be hand-delivered or mailed by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the responsible parties. Notice is sufficient if the signed receipt is returned or the certified mail is returned as refused by the recipient.
B. If the address of the responsible parties cannot be determined with reasonable diligence, the notice is sufficient if it is published twice consecutively in a daily or weekly newspaper having general circulation in the municipality in which the property is located.
8. In-state representatives. A responsible party that has been served with notice to correct pursuant to subsection 6 shall designate a representative whose place of business is within this State to be responsible for addressing property defects at the property. The responsible party shall provide the municipality where the property is located with the contact information for the responsible party's in-state representative. Failure to provide the municipality with the contact information of an in-state representative within 14 days of receipt of a notice to correct creates a rebuttable presumption that the responsible party does not intend to address property defects. For the purposes of this subsection, "contact information" means both a mailing address and a direct telephone number with a functioning voice mailbox, as well as the responsible party's direct e-mail address when available.
9. Fine. Not less than 30 days following receipt or publication of the municipal notice to correct pursuant to subsection 7, the municipality is authorized to assess a fine of $2,000 for each day the responsible parties have failed to remedy the property defects identified in the notice to correct.
10. Costs. All responsible parties are jointly and severally liable to a municipality for its direct, legal and administrative costs incurred while remedying or attempting to remedy the property defects pursuant to an ordinance adopted in accordance with this section. The responsible parties shall reimburse the municipality for its costs within 30 days after demand, or a special tax may be assessed against the property in the amount of those costs and may be collected in the same manner as other state, county and municipal taxes are collected.
11. Appeals. An appeal from a finding of abandonment by the municipal officers pursuant to this section is to the Superior Court, pursuant to the provisions of the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 80B.
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes municipalities, through the adoption of an appropriate ordinance, to provide for the care, maintenance and security of abandoned properties.