§5066. Definitions

The following words and phrases when used in R.S. 33:5065 through 5069 shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(1) "Abandoned residential property" shall mean one-to-four-family residential property that is vacant as the result of the relinquishment of physical possession or control by a homeowner or any other person or entity. Property may be deemed abandoned when there is evidence of conditions, taken separately or as a whole, that would lead a reasonable person to conclude that the property was unoccupied, including but not limited to evidence of vacancy.

(2) "Evidence of vacancy" shall mean a condition that on its own, or combined with other conditions present, would lead a reasonable person to believe that the property is vacant. Such conditions include but are not limited to overgrown or dead vegetation, accumulation of newspapers, circulars, flyers, or mail, past due utility notices or disconnected utilities, accumulation of trash, junk or debris, the absence of window coverings such as curtains, blinds or shutters, the absence of furnishings or personal items consistent with residential habitation, and statements by neighbors, passersby, delivery agents, or government employees that the property is unoccupied.

(3) "Maintenance" shall mean but is not limited to repairing or replacing broken glass windows, repairing or replacing exterior doors, repairing or replacing soffit, fascia, shutters, and siding, repairing or replacing fences, and maintaining or covering swimming pools and hot tubs.

(4) "Notice" shall mean posting notice of the alleged violation on the door of the property at issue and sending notice via certified mail, return receipt requested, from the governing authority addressed to the property owner, referencing the subject property, providing an explanation of the maintenance needed on the property, specifying the time period in which the work is required to be completed, providing the name and phone number of a contact person with the governing authority who has knowledge of the matter who can provide more information, including a copy of the applicable ordinance, and including a photo of the subject property. If the property is encumbered by a recorded mortgage, then a notice letter shall also be sent certified mail, return receipt requested, from the governing authority addressed to the seizing creditor, mortgage holder, lien holder, or loan servicer of foreclosed property pending title transfer that includes all of the information and enclosures required to be provided in the letter to the owner.

(5) "Owner" is defined as any person with care, custody, or control of the property at issue, including but not limited to record owners, seizing creditors, mortgage holders, lien holders, loan servicers of foreclosed property pending title transfer, or an agent or assignee of the seizing creditor, mortgage holders, lien holders, or loan servicer.

Acts 2012, No. 692, §2, eff. Oct. 1, 2012.