What happens when property taxes go unpaid on a house in Louisiana?
The tax collector auctions off the tax lien, not the house, and records a tax lien certificate for the winning bidder. The auction doesn't end the owner's ownership or right to possession; that takes a court judgment, carried out.
Louisiana's constitution bars forfeiting property for unpaid taxes; the taxes are a lien on the property instead. By the first Monday in February, or soon after, the tax collector sends a certified-mail notice to anyone who hasn't paid the previous year's property taxes.
Bidders compete on the monthly interest rate the lien will earn, which can't go above one percent a month. With no bidder, the certificate goes to the local government that's owed the taxes.
Anyone can wipe out a tax lien. It's done by paying the termination price to the tax collector. That price covers the certificate's face value, the penalty, the cost of recording the termination and interest.
The notice the law spells out tells owners that three years after the certificate is recorded, the holder may sue to enforce the lien through seizure and sale of the property. The holder has to send that notice six months to a year before suing, to the owners and others with an interest in the property.
Once a suit is filed, court costs and attorney fees are added, and the owner has only thirty days after being served to pay and end the lien.
If a code enforcement notice or order, or a court, authorizes it, the certificate holder can make necessary repairs. The holder then has a lien on the property for those repair costs.
Can someone gain ownership of a blighted Louisiana house by possessing it?
Louisiana lets a person gain ownership of certain blighted property by possessing it for three years, with no deed from the owner and no need for good faith. It applies only in a municipality of three hundred thousand people or more, and only to property declared blighted after an administrative hearing.
The would-be possessor first files an affidavit of intent in the public records and can't take possession for at least sixty days. The filings go by certified mail to the owner on the tax rolls and to the owners of the properties next door.
Next-door owners get the first right to take possession.
A possessor who rehabilitates or builds a house or commercial building there can gain ownership on the day a certificate of use and occupancy is issued.
An owner who sues and wins the property back has to repay what the possessor spent.
How does a Louisiana parish or city condemn and tear down a dangerous vacant building?
Any parish or municipality can condemn a dilapidated, dangerous building that endangers the public welfare and have it demolished or removed. The owner is served a notice to appear at a meeting of the governing body and show why the building shouldn't be condemned.
That notice must be served at least ten days before the hearing, except in a grave public emergency, when a building could cause immediate harm to people or property and can be condemned on twenty-four hours' notice.
The notice is filed in the parish mortgage records, so anyone who later acquires the property is on notice of it.
If repairs would fix the danger, the governing body can give the owner the option to repair instead.
Every parish and municipality has to keep a list of its condemned properties, updated regularly and open to the public online.
If the owner neither complies nor appeals in time, the mayor or chief executive can go ahead with demolition.
The parish or city gets a lien on the property for its upkeep and demolition costs, and the owner is personally liable for them. Upkeep here includes cutting grass, clearing weeds and hauling away trash. The bill can be added to the property's taxes and collected like any property tax lien.
Instead of tearing a condemned building down, a parish or city can repair it itself. The owner then owes the repair costs plus a ten percent penalty, and until that's paid, the parish or city can lease the property out and put the rent toward the debt.
Can a lender step in to maintain a vacant house in foreclosure in Louisiana?
Yes. When a mortgaged house is unoccupied or abandoned, the lender and the loan servicer each have a legal right to enter and maintain it until it's sold at a private or sheriff's sale.
This covers one- to four-family homes left vacant because the homeowner, or whoever had it, gave up possession or control. Maintenance means things like fixing broken windows, exterior doors, siding and fences, and keeping pools and hot tubs maintained or covered.
A lender or servicer that gets a local government notice listing required upkeep also has the right to enter and do the work. What the lender spends on upkeep can be added to the loan balance and recovered from the sale.
For the owner of a vacant Louisiana house who has missed loan payments, this Louisiana foreclosure overview picks up where this section leaves off.
How do you report a blighted or abandoned house in Louisiana?
In New Orleans, call 311 or use the 311 website to report a blighted property or check on an earlier complaint.
City inspectors then examine the outside of the building and the lot, take photos and list the violations. The city researches the title to find everyone who owns the property or has a legal interest in it.
A Notice of Noncompliance is mailed and posted on the property, listing the violations and giving a set time to fix them. Fix them in time and there's no hearing; miss the deadline and an administrative hearing is set.
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.