Oklahoma-City-Vacant-House-BuyerThe Towns of Babylon and Hempstead have recently enacted legislation designed to combat the blight associated with “zombie” homes and other vacant and abandoned properties. Both laws create a registry and require the payment of fees to offset the costs associated with monitoring and inspecting properties that are required to register.

Town of Babylon

The Town of Babylon’s law, known as the “Mortgage-in-Default Registry” law, requires banks and other lenders to register with the Town within ten days after a home mortgage goes into default. The law, which is based on similar legislation enacted in Jacksonville, Florida, sets forth certain maintenance and security requirements for the property and requires lenders to inspect the property monthly while it is in default. Lenders are obligated to report each time a mortgage changes hands, and the new lender must register with the Town as well.

Under the new legislation, lenders are required to pay an annual registration fee of $200 per property to a company hired by the Town to manage the registry. Failure to register and pay the fee or to comply with the new law’s property maintenance and security requirements will subject first-time violators to a fine of $250 to $1,000 and up to 15 days in jail.

Town of Hempstead

The Town of Hempstead’s new registry law, known as the “Maintenance of Vacant Buildings” law, goes beyond the measure adopted in Babylon in that it applies to all vacant residential and commercial properties, regardless of whether they are in default or in the foreclosure process. The Town’s new law requires landlords to register with the Town within 30 days of a building becoming vacant, pay an annual fee to cover the Town’s administrative costs to maintain the registry, and monitor and inspect properties.

Hempstead’s annual fees start at $500 and increase each year by $500 until a maximum annual fee of $3,000 is reached. The registry fees are in addition to the $25,000-$35,000 deposit that lenders of properties in foreclosure must post under the Town’s anti-zombie legislation adopted in May.

Landlords are also required to submit a plan to either demolish the building, keep the property secured and properly maintained, or detail how the structure will be rehabilitated within a year.

According to Town Supervisor Anthony Santino, the new measure is not intended to be punitive, but rather is designed to create a financial incentive for landlords to get their vacant buildings occupied and back to productive use as soon as possible.

The measures adopted in Babylon and Hempstead are the latest attempts by Long Island municipalities to tackle the problems associated with vacant and abandoned properties. These laws come on the heels of New York State’s anti-zombie property legislation known as the Abandoned Property Neighborhood Relief Act of 2016 that was signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo in June, which, among other things, created a statewide registry of abandoned properties.