Bill Text: NY A02327 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced


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

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 6-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to real property taxation [A02327 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A02327-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2327

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 25, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. MORINELLO, MILLER, NORRIS, McDONOUGH, MANKTELOW,
          DeSTEFANO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Real  Property
          Taxation

        AN  ACT  to  amend the real property tax law, in relation to authorizing
          the city of Niagara Falls to add unpaid housing code violation  penal-
          ties, 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 Niagara Falls; levy. 1.   Authorization. In addition to  and  not  in
     5  limitation  of  any  power otherwise granted by law, the city of Niagara
     6  Falls is hereby authorized to collect any unpaid housing,  building  and
     7  fire  code violation penalties, costs and fines through placement by the
     8  city controller on the city's annual tax levy  in  accordance  with  the
     9  provisions of this section.
    10    2.  Eligibility.  In order to be eligible for placement on the city of
    11  Niagara Falls' annual tax levy such  unpaid  code  violation  penalties,
    12  costs  and fines shall have been adjudicated and imposed through a judg-
    13  ment in a court of competent jurisdiction on an owner of  real  property
    14  within  the  city  and recorded by the county clerk, as certified by the
    15  city's corporation counsel to the  city  controller  and  have  remained
    16  unpaid  for  one year after the final adjudication and exhaustion of all
    17  appeals relating to the imposition of the fines  for  a  code  violation
    18  preceding the placement on the city's tax levy.
    19    3.  Minimum  amount owed. To qualify for placement on the tax levy the
    20  amount owed for unpaid code violations must be at least five percent  of
    21  the amount of the tax assessed value of the property.
    22    4.  Levy.  Such code violation penalty, cost or fine as set forth in a
    23  copy of the judgment certified by the corporation counsel to  such  city

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01840-01-3

        A. 2327                             2

     1  controller  shall  be  set down in the annual tax levy under the heading
     2  uncollected fines and penalties and  in  accordance  with  this  section
     3  shall  be levied, enforced and collected in the same manner, by the same
     4  proceedings,  at  the same time, under the same penalties and having the
     5  same lien upon the property assessed as the tax  levy  of  such  munici-
     6  pality and as a part thereof.
     7    5.  Notice. The city of Niagara Falls shall notify all owners or known
     8  interested parties of record of the placement of the code violations  on
     9  the  city tax levy as uncollected fines and penalties within thirty days
    10  of placement, pursuant to section three hundred eight of the civil prac-
    11  tice law and rules. The notice shall include the date or dates  of  such
    12  violations, the description of the violations, the amount owed, a state-
    13  ment detailing the foreclosure process that will occur if the violations
    14  remain  unpaid,  the  process to claim any surplus funds and the contact
    15  information for the city's office in charge of receiving payments.
    16    6. Tax year. Any unpaid code violations shall be  placed  on  the  tax
    17  roll  the  city of Niagara Falls is currently in and shall not be placed
    18  on a list, roll or levy of delinquent taxes.
    19    7. Owner occupied. Notwithstanding any other applicable provisions  of
    20  law,  nothing in this section shall be applied to a residential dwelling
    21  that is owner-occupied or is the primary residence of a homeowner.
    22    8. Tenants. Prior to the placement of any property  with  unpaid  code
    23  violations  on  the  tax levy, the city of Niagara Falls shall develop a
    24  program to assist tenants residing in a dwelling at risk for  tax  fore-
    25  closure  due to unpaid code violations. Such program shall include hous-
    26  ing counseling assistance or other support in relocating the tenants  to
    27  suitable housing prior to the tax foreclosure.
    28    9.  Payment  plan.  Nothing in this section shall preclude an owner or
    29  landlord from entering into a payment plan  with  the  city  of  Niagara
    30  Falls for past amounts due for code violations.
    31    10. Curing code violations. (a) If all of the violations for which the
    32  penalties,  fees  and  costs  have  been  assessed are cured, removed or
    33  corrected prior to the expiration of the period for redemption  pursuant
    34  to  section  eleven  hundred  ten of this chapter, the property shall be
    35  removed from the levy and auction and the balance  of  the  amount  owed
    36  shall  be  placed  as a lien on the property pursuant to applicable laws
    37  for debt collection and an action for foreclosure of the property  shall
    38  not be maintained for the amount owed.
    39    (b)  The determination of whether or not the code violations have been
    40  cured shall be made by the city of Niagara Falls' enforcing  officer  in
    41  charge  of  ensuring  compliance  with applicable housing, building, and
    42  fire codes such as a code enforcement officer. An appeal of this  deter-
    43  mination  may  be  made  to  the city's zoning board of appeals or other
    44  local administrative body as provided for in local law. The final deter-
    45  mination made by the administrative body shall be reviewable pursuant to
    46  article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules.
    47    (c) This section shall not  be  applicable  to  any  cause  of  action
    48  brought  for  money due based on the curing of code violations under any
    49  form for receivership or a mechanic's lien.
    50    11. Payment prior to  auction.  (a)  If  the  balance  owed  for  code
    51  violations placed on the tax levy is paid prior to the expiration of the
    52  period  for  redemption  pursuant  to section eleven hundred ten of this
    53  chapter and there is no balance due for unpaid real property taxes,  the
    54  property  may  not  be auctioned, and the property shall be removed from
    55  the tax levy.

        A. 2327                             3

     1    (b) The owner shall have the right to pay the full  balance  prior  to
     2  the  expiration  of the period for redemption pursuant to section eleven
     3  hundred ten of this chapter in order to redeem the property.
     4    12.  Surplus. Any surplus funds remaining after the sale of a property
     5  at a tax foreclosure for unpaid code violations shall be returned to the
     6  former owner of the property in a manner as provided  under  local  law.
     7  This provision shall not apply to a sale of a property at a tax foreclo-
     8  sure due to unpaid taxes. If a property has both unpaid taxes and unpaid
     9  code  violations on the same tax levy and is auctioned at a tax foreclo-
    10  sure the amount of the surplus funds returned to the former owner  shall
    11  be  proportionate  to  the  amount of unpaid code violations owed in the
    12  total amount of debt owed to the city of Niagara Falls.  For the purpose
    13  of this section,  "surplus  funds"  shall  mean  the  balance  of  money
    14  received after auction of a property at a tax foreclosure sale minus the
    15  amount  owed  for  code  violations  and  the  costs and attorneys' fees
    16  incurred in the collection of the fees by the city.
    17    13. Balance due. If after  an  auction  a  balance  is  due  for  code
    18  violations,  the  city  of  Niagara  Falls  may  proceed with any action
    19  against the former owner pursuant to applicable laws.
    20    14. Exclusions. The provisions of this section shall not apply to  any
    21  municipality that sells their tax liens in a tax sale.
    22    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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