2929.3. (a) (1) A legal owner shall maintain vacant residential property purchased by that owner at a foreclosure sale once that sale is deemed final, or acquired by that owner through foreclosure under a mortgage or deed of trust. A governmental entity may impose a civil fine upon the legal owner of the property for a violation as set forth in this section. The governmental entity is not required to impose a civil fine if the violation is not remedied.
(2) If the governmental entity chooses to impose a fine pursuant to this section, it shall give the legal owner, prior to the imposition of the fine, a notice containing the following information:
(A) Notice of the alleged violation, including a detailed description of the conditions that gave rise to the allegation.
(B) Notice of the entity’s intent to assess a civil fine if the legal owner does not do both of the following:
(i) Within a period determined by the entity, consisting of not less than 14 business days following the date of the notice, commence action to remedy the violation and notify the entity of that action. This time period shall be extended by an additional 10 business days if requested by the legal owner in order to clarify with the entity the actions necessary to remedy the violation.
(ii) Complete the action described in clause (i) within a period of no less than 16 business days following the end of the period set forth in clause (i).
(C) The notice required under this paragraph shall be mailed to the address provided in the deed or other instrument as specified in subdivision (a) of Section 27321.5 of the Government Code, or, if none, to the return address provided on the deed or other instrument.
(3) The governmental entity shall provide a period of not less than the time set forth in clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) to remedy the violation prior to imposing a civil fine and shall allow for a hearing and opportunity to contest any fine imposed. In determining the amount of the fine, the governmental entity shall take into consideration any timely and good faith efforts by the legal owner to remedy the violation. The maximum civil fine authorized by this section for each day that the owner fails to maintain the property, commencing on the day following the expiration of the period to remedy the violation established by the governmental entity, is as follows:
(A) Up to a maximum of two thousand dollars ($2,000) per day for the first 30 days.
(B) Up to a maximum of five thousand dollars ($5,000) per day thereafter.
(4) Subject to the provisions of this section, a governmental entity may establish different compliance periods for different conditions on the same property in the notice of alleged violation mailed to the legal owner.
(b) For purposes of this section, “failure to maintain” means failure to care for the exterior of the property, including, but not limited to, permitting excessive foliage growth that diminishes the value of surrounding properties, failing to take action to prevent trespassers or squatters from remaining on the property, or failing to take action to prevent mosquito larvae from growing in standing water or other conditions that create a public nuisance.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), a governmental entity may provide less than 30 days’ notice to remedy a condition before imposing a civil fine if the entity determines that a specific condition of the property threatens public health or safety and provided that notice of that determination and time for compliance is given.
(d) Fines and penalties collected pursuant to this section shall be directed to local nuisance abatement programs, including, but not limited to, legal abatement proceedings.
(e) A governmental entity may not impose fines on a legal owner under both this section and a local ordinance.
(f) These provisions shall not preempt any local ordinance.
(g) This section shall only apply to residential real property.
(h) The rights and remedies provided in this section are cumulative and in addition to any other rights and remedies provided by law.
(Amended by Stats. 2020, Ch. 202, Sec. 9. (SB 1079) Effective January 1, 2021.)
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