BILL NUMBER: S925
SPONSOR: KAVANAGH
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the real property actions and proceedings law, in
relation to penalties for failure to comply with maintenance and report-
ing of vacant and abandoned properties, and reporting and release of
information
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill seeks to reduce neighborhood blight and other problems caused
by vacant and abandoned properties by making information on such proper-
ties more readily available to be shared among local governments and the
general public, and by increasing the penalties for failure to properly
maintain such properties.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 increases the maximum penalty for violating the provisions set
forth in Real Property Action and Proceedings Law (RPAPL) § 1308 regard-
ing inspecting, securing, and maintaining vacant and abandoned residen-
tial real properties from $500 to $650 per day per property for each day
the violation persists.
Section 2 authorizes state districts, counties, cities, towns, and
villages that currently receive vacant and abandoned properties registry
data from the Department of Financial Services to share such information
with other state districts, counties, cities, towns, villages, and
municipal landbanks.
Section 3 expands the types of information that lenders, assignees, and
mortgage loan servicers must provide to the Department of Financial
Services on vacant and abandoned properties.
Section 4 provides that a violation in providing information to DFS for
the statewide vacant and abandoned property electronic registry under
RPAPL § 1310 of the may be heard before a hearing officer or a court of
competent jurisdiction, and civil penalties may be issued by the hearing
officer or the court for up to $5,000.
Section 5 directs DFS to publish data in the vacant and abandoned prop-
erty registry annually. Section 6 sets forth the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
When a residential property enters into foreclosure, there is a risk
that it will fall into disrepair if the homeowner facing mortgage
arrears leaves the property and the lender or mortgage servicer holding
the delinquent loan fails to provide upkeep and maintenance. Abandoned
properties can have detrimental effects on a neighborhood, increasing
blight and attracting break-ins or squatters. Left to deteriorate over
months or years, these vacant and abandoned properties--sometimes called
"zombie homes" -- can lead to a decrease in surrounding properties' real
estate values while increasing the costs to municipalities to address
hazardous conditions that result from extended periods of neglect.
In June 2016, the State enacted the "Zombie Property and Foreclosure
Prevention Act" (Chapter 73 of 2016, Part Q) to address the rise in
abandoned homes, in the aftermath of the 2008 foreclosure crisis. The
law directs the Department of Financial Services (DFS) to establish a
vacant and abandoned property registry, among other provisions intended
to combat the presence of abandoned properties. (See
https://www.dfs.ny.gov/apps_and_licensing/mortgage_companies/zombie
_prop_legislation.)
Maintaining a registry is the first step to identifying the scope of
property abandonment statewide and provides the necessary data to muni-
cipalities to take action. For example, vacancy data collected by the
New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development for the
registry enables the agency to coordinate with the City's Law Department
to pursue legal actions against banks and mortgage servicers where
appropriate. (See https://www.nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information
By expanding the type of data collected for the registry and allowing
for municipalities to share vacancy information with one another this
bill would better enable localities' enforcement agencies to pursue
property title holders who fail to properly maintain buildings while in
foreclosure. Increasing penalties for mortgagees who fail to provide
upkeep for abandoned properties they are responsible for would disincen-
tivize willful neglect of vacant and abandoned properties. And directing
DFS to publicly report data on vacant properties would ensure the data
is made available in an accessible format so policymakers and the public
in communities around the state can better assess the impact and status
of these properties, and the efficacy of public programs intended to
ameliorate the problem.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: S1634B (Kavanagh) - PASSED SENATE /A4026A Rosenthal L - referred
to judiciary
2023: S1634B (Kavanagh) - ADVANCED TO THIRD READING /A4026A Rosenthal L
referred to judiciary
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Minimal.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.

Statutes affected:
S925: 1308 real property actions and proceedings law, 1308(8) real property actions and proceedings law, 1310 real property actions and proceedings law, 1310(1) real property actions and proceedings law, 1310(2) real property actions and proceedings law