Bill Text: NY S04634 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Authorizes the city of Lockport to add unpaid housing code violation penalties, costs and fines to such city's annual tax levy.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT [S04634 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S04634-Amended.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
            S. 4634--A                                            A. 6736--A
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                SENATE - ASSEMBLY
                                     March 18, 2019
                                       ___________
        IN  SENATE -- Introduced by Sen. ORTT -- read twice and ordered printed,
          and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Local  Government
          --  committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
          and recommitted to said committee
        IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. NORRIS -- read once  and  referred
          to  the  Committee  on Real Property Taxation -- committee discharged,
          bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended  and  recommitted  to  said
          committee
        AN  ACT  to  amend the real property tax law, in relation to authorizing
          the city of Lockport to add unpaid housing code  violation  penalties,
          costs and fines to such city's annual tax levy
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. The real property tax  law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
     2  section 905-a to read as follows:
     3    §  905-a.  Collection of unpaid housing code violation penalties; city
     4  of Lockport; levy. 1.  Authorization. In addition to and not in  limita-
     5  tion  of  any  power  otherwise  granted by law, the city of Lockport is
     6  hereby authorized to collect any unpaid housing, building and fire  code
     7  violation penalties, costs and fines through placement by the city trea-
     8  surer on the city's annual tax levy in accordance with the provisions of
     9  this section.
    10    2.  Eligibility.  In order to be eligible for placement on the city of
    11  Lockport's annual tax levy such unpaid code violation  penalties,  costs
    12  and  fines shall have been adjudicated and imposed through a judgment in
    13  a court of competent jurisdiction on an owner of  real  property  within
    14  the  city  and  recorded by the county clerk, as certified by the city's
    15  corporation counsel and have remained unpaid  for  one  year  after  the
    16  final adjudication and exhaustion of all appeals relating to the imposi-
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10671-03-9

        S. 4634--A                          2                         A. 6736--A
     1  tion  of  the  fines for a code violation preceding the placement on the
     2  city's tax levy.
     3    3.  Minimum  amount owed. To qualify for placement on the tax levy the
     4  amount owed for unpaid code violations must be at least five percent  of
     5  the amount of the tax assessed value of the property.
     6    4.  Levy.  Such code violation penalty, cost or fine as set forth in a
     7  copy of the judgment certified by the corporation counsel shall  be  set
     8  down  in  the  annual  tax  levy under the heading uncollected fines and
     9  penalties and in accordance with this section shall be levied,  enforced
    10  and  collected  in the same manner, by the same proceedings, at the same
    11  time, under the same penalties and having the same lien upon the proper-
    12  ty assessed as the tax levy of such municipality and as a part thereof.
    13    5. Notice. The city of Lockport  shall  notify  all  owners  or  known
    14  interested  parties of record of the placement of the code violations on
    15  the city tax levy as uncollected fines and penalties within thirty  days
    16  of placement, pursuant to section three hundred eight of the civil prac-
    17  tice  law  and rules. The notice shall include the date or dates of such
    18  violations, the description of the violations, the amount owed, a state-
    19  ment detailing the foreclosure process that will occur if the violations
    20  remain unpaid, the process to claim any surplus funds  and  the  contact
    21  information for the city's office in charge of receiving payments.
    22    6.  Tax  year.  Any  unpaid code violations shall be placed on the tax
    23  roll the city of Lockport is currently in and shall not be placed  on  a
    24  list, roll or levy of delinquent taxes.
    25    7.  Owner occupied. Notwithstanding any other applicable provisions of
    26  law, nothing in this section shall be applied to a residential  dwelling
    27  that is owner-occupied or is the primary residence of a homeowner.
    28    8.  Tenants.  Prior  to the placement of any property with unpaid code
    29  violations on the tax levy, the city of Lockport shall develop a program
    30  to assist tenants residing in a dwelling at risk for tax foreclosure due
    31  to unpaid code violations. Such program shall include housing counseling
    32  assistance or other support in relocating the tenants to suitable  hous-
    33  ing prior to the tax foreclosure.
    34    9.  Payment  plan.  Nothing in this section shall preclude an owner or
    35  landlord from entering into a payment plan with the city of Lockport for
    36  past amounts due for code violations.
    37    10. Curing code violations. (a) If all of the violations for which the
    38  penalties, fees and costs have  been  assessed  are  cured,  removed  or
    39  corrected  prior to the expiration of the period for redemption pursuant
    40  to section eleven hundred ten of this chapter,  the  property  shall  be
    41  removed  from  the  levy  and auction and the balance of the amount owed
    42  shall be placed as a lien on the property pursuant  to  applicable  laws
    43  for  debt collection and an action for foreclosure of the property shall
    44  not be maintained for the amount owed.
    45    (b) The determination of whether or not the code violations have  been
    46  cured  shall  be  made  by  the  city of Lockport's enforcing officer in
    47  charge of ensuring compliance with  applicable  housing,  building,  and
    48  fire  codes such as a code enforcement officer. An appeal of this deter-
    49  mination may be made to the city's zoning  board  of  appeals  or  other
    50  local administrative body as provided for in local law. The final deter-
    51  mination made by the administrative body shall be reviewable pursuant to
    52  article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules.
    53    (c)  This  section  shall  not  be  applicable  to any cause of action
    54  brought for money due based on the curing of code violations  under  any
    55  form for receivership or a mechanic's lien.

        S. 4634--A                          3                         A. 6736--A
     1    11.  Payment  prior  to  auction.  (a)  If  the  balance owed for code
     2  violations placed on the tax levy is paid prior to the expiration of the
     3  period for redemption pursuant to section eleven  hundred  ten  of  this
     4  chapter  and there is no balance due for unpaid real property taxes, the
     5  property  may  not  be auctioned, and the property shall be removed from
     6  the tax levy.
     7    (b) The owner shall have the right to pay the full  balance  prior  to
     8  the  expiration  of the period for redemption pursuant to section eleven
     9  hundred ten of this chapter in order to redeem the property.
    10    12. Surplus. Any surplus funds remaining after the sale of a  property
    11  at a tax foreclosure for unpaid code violations shall be returned to the
    12  former  owner  of  the property in a manner as provided under local law.
    13  This provision shall not apply to a sale of a property at a tax foreclo-
    14  sure due to unpaid taxes. If a property has both unpaid taxes and unpaid
    15  code violations on the same tax levy and is auctioned at a tax  foreclo-
    16  sure  the amount of the surplus funds returned to the former owner shall
    17  be proportionate to the amount of unpaid code  violations  owed  in  the
    18  total  amount  of debt owed to the city of Lockport.  For the purpose of
    19  this section, "surplus funds" shall mean the balance of  money  received
    20  after  auction  of a property at a tax foreclosure sale minus the amount
    21  owed for code violations and the costs and attorneys' fees  incurred  in
    22  the collection of the fees by the city.
    23    13.  Balance  due.  If  after  an  auction  a  balance is due for code
    24  violations, the city of Lockport may proceed with any action against the
    25  former owner pursuant to applicable laws.
    26    14. Exclusions. The provisions of this section shall not apply to  any
    27  municipality that sells their tax liens in a tax sale.
    28    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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