City Anti Foreclosure Blight Ordinance Requires Registration Of Repo'd Homes; Can Assess Fines Up To $100K Per Home; Enforceable As Tax Lien

In Murrieta, California, The Press Enterprise reports:

• Murrieta on Tuesday became the latest city in California to target financial institutions for blight when a home falls into foreclosure. The City Council unanimously voted for a new blight ordinance that requires lenders to maintain a property that has been abandoned or foreclosed. [...] The law is meant to prevent "the broken window syndrome," where vandals and squatters choose homes to party or live in by finding signs of abandonment.

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• The law requires that when a property is foreclosed upon or is abandoned, the lender must register the property with the city. The registration fee is $70. [...] The fines range from $250 a day for dead lawns or graffiti to $1,000 daily for fire hazards or squatters. The city can assess as much as $100,000 per parcel or structure that will be tacked on as a tax lien and paid to the city when the property is sold. The program is expected to begin in April. The city's proposed blight law is a variation of others used in Chula Vista, Orange County and Riverside.

For more, see Murrieta measure requires lenders to maintain foreclosed homes.

See also, North County Times: Murrieta cracks down on maintenance of foreclosed homes ("[C]ity officials took action Tuesday to curb blighted yards, unsafe neighborhoods and virtual welcome mats for squatters.") squatter foreclosure zebra