Can a Kentucky court put a conservator in charge of an abandoned, blighted building?
Yes. The city or county where the building sits can petition the Circuit Court to appoint a conservator who takes possession of an abandoned, blighted building and rehabilitates it.
To qualify, a building must have been vacant for at least a year, have repeated housing, building or nuisance code citations, and show at least three listed problems. One of those problems is a building people can get into without permission, where the owner hasn't taken reasonable steps to secure it. Another is a building that neglect has turned into a pile-up of trash and debris or a haven for rodents and other vermin.
The conservator has to be a person or group, nonprofits included, with experience rehabilitating buildings and the ability to finance the work.
The court can't appoint one if a private foreclosure case is pending on the property. The owner can also block it by showing the property was actively marketed for sale during the previous 60 days.
An owner who tells the court the problems will be fixed in a reasonable time may be allowed to do the work instead.
Once appointed, the conservator takes possession and control of the building and its land. The owner still owes the taxes, liens and other charges on the property while the conservator is in charge.
If the conservator sells the property and the court confirms the sale, the buyer gets a deed free and clear of the existing liens.
Does Kentucky fast-track foreclosure sales of vacant and abandoned homes?
Yes. When a court decides a property in a mortgage or lien foreclosure is vacant and abandoned, it has to order the sale expeditiously.
For this rule, a property is vacant and abandoned when no one legally entitled to live there has lived there for 45 days in a row or more, plus at least two signs such as overgrown or dead plants, piled-up flyers, mail or trash, shut-off utilities, no curtains or furniture, or unrepaired hazards or vandalism.
With that finding in the order, the master commissioner has to sell the property within 70 days. The lender then has 20 days after the sale to ask the court to confirm it.
If a court-ordered sale brings in less than two-thirds of the appraised value, the owner can redeem the property within six months of the sale. Redeeming means also repaying the buyer's reasonable upkeep and repair costs after the sale, including utilities, insurance, taxes and bringing the property up to local nuisance code.
Is the empty house yours, with the loan already behind? See how foreclosure plays out in Kentucky before the case gets to a sale.
How do Kentucky cities make owners repair, secure or tear down unsafe houses?
Through nuisance enforcement backed by liens. State law forbids an owner to let a building become unfit and unsafe to live in or use, and a local government that gives notice and a chance at a hearing can demolish one.
The costs a local government can recover include clearing a property, closing it off to trespassers and demolishing all or part of a building. Those costs and fines become a lien that accrues interest and, with exceptions, outranks every other lien except property taxes. The owner is personally liable for the amount, too.
When a violation presents imminent danger, a local government can act right away.
Cities and counties that adopt Kentucky's blighted-property law set up a vacant property review commission that certifies properties as blighted or deteriorated. The commission's notice describes what makes the property blighted and gives the owner 90 days to fix it. If the owner doesn't, the local government can use eminent domain to take a certified property.
Kentucky cities can also tax abandoned urban property at a higher rate than other real estate. That covers a vacant building or lot in a built-up urban area that has been vacant for at least a year and, for example, is too dilapidated, unsanitary or unsafe to use.
What happens when property taxes go unpaid on a vacant Kentucky house?
The unpaid taxes become a lien: the state and each local taxing district hold a lien on the property for eleven years after the taxes become delinquent.
Each county's sale of these certificates of delinquency is usually held 90 to 135 days after the sheriff files the unpaid tax claims with the county clerk. From mid-July, county clerks offer certificates of delinquency for sale to private buyers called third party purchasers.
A suit to collect on a certificate can be filed once a year has passed since the taxes became delinquent, and the property can be foreclosed on to pay the judgment.
A private certificate holder has to send the owner, and any mortgage lender, a certified-mail notice at least 45 days before suing.
If a tax foreclosure ends in a sale, the property is appraised first, and the owner gets the redemption right the law gives after other court-ordered sales.
How do you report a vacant, neglected house in Kentucky?
In Lexington, report it to LexCall at (859) 425-2255, or 311 from inside the city, or submit a service request online.
Lexington's Code Enforcement handles reported violations of local upkeep rules for homes, businesses, yards and lots across Fayette County. Complaints are prioritized as they come in, with safety issues first.
You can also tell me where it is. I'll find out who owns it and reach out about buying it and fixing it up.