§ 1310. Vacant and abandoned property; statewide vacant and abandoned property electronic registry. 1. The department of financial services shall maintain a statewide vacant and abandoned property registry in the form of an electronic database. The department of financial services may, in accordance with the applicable provisions of the state finance law, retain a private contractor to administer such database for the purposes of satisfying this requirement. The information provided to the department of financial services pursuant to this section shall be deemed and treated confidential, provided however, the superintendent of financial services, in her or his sole discretion, may release the information if it is in the best interest of the public. Any such released information shall continue to be treated confidentially by the parties. The department of financial services shall, upon written request, provide public officials of any state district, county, city, town or village with access to information specific to such public official's district, county, city, town or village maintained on such database to further the purposes of this section, section thirteen hundred seven of this article or article nineteen-A of this chapter, or any other related law, code, rule, regulation or ordinance.

2. A lender, assignee or mortgage loan servicer shall submit or cause to be submitted to the department of financial services information required by the superintendent of financial services about any vacant and abandoned residential real property, as that term is defined in subdivision two of section thirteen hundred nine of this article, or as the superintendent of financial services may otherwise define that term, within twenty-one business days of when the lender, assignee or mortgage loan servicer learns, or should have learned, that such property is vacant and abandoned. Such information shall, at a minimum, include: (a) the current name, address and contact information for the lender, assignee or mortgage loan servicer responsible for maintaining the vacant property; (b) whether a foreclosure action has been filed for the property in question, and, if so, the date on which the foreclosure action was commenced; and (c) the last known address and contact information for the mortgagor(s) of record.

3. Where any of the information contained in a lender's, assignee's or mortgage loan servicer's initial submission to the registry has materially changed since such submission, such lender, assignee or mortgage loan servicer shall make an amended submission to the registry not later than thirty days after the lender, assignee or mortgage loan servicer learns, or reasonably should have learned, of the new or changed information.

4. The department of financial services is authorized and empowered to adopt such rules and regulations as may in the judgment of the superintendent of financial services necessary for the effective administration and operation of such registry, including but not limited to rules and regulations governing access to the registry and specifying the manner and frequency of registration and the information that must be provided. The superintendent of financial services may amend such regulations from time to time as necessary to effectuate the purpose of this section and section thirteen hundred seven of this article.

5. The department of financial services shall establish and maintain a toll-free hotline that neighbors of real property that is, or appears to be, vacant and abandoned residential real property, as such term is defined in subdivision two of section thirteen hundred nine of this article, and other community residents can use to report to the superintendent of financial services any hazards, blight or other concerns related to such property. The department of financial services shall include on its official public website information about such toll-free hotline.

No local law, ordinance, or resolution shall impose a duty to register vacant and abandoned property as defined in section thirteen hundred nine of the article in a manner inconsistent with the provisions of this section that are related to registration as provided under section thirteen hundred ten of this article or establish related penalties or other monetary obligation, with respect to a state or federally chartered bank, savings bank, savings and loan association or credit union that originates, owns, services or maintains a mortgage related to such property.

No local law, ordinance, or resolution shall impose a duty to maintain vacant and abandoned property upon any state or federally chartered bank, savings bank, savings and loan association or credit union that originates, owns, services or maintains a mortgage related to such property for which the provisions of this section, pursuant to the opening paragraph of section thirteen hundred eight of this article, do not apply.