Requiring owners of vacant residential properties undergoing foreclosure to post bonds for maintenance purposes.

This bill would require an owner of a vacant residential property undergoing foreclosure to provide a $5,000 bond to the Commissioner of Finance to address housing maintenance, building, and sanitation violations during vacancy and the foreclosure action. After an action concludes, the Commissioner would have to return unused funds to the owner upon request. If the owner fails to provide a bond, the Commissioner would have to send a demand to the owner to provide one; if an owner fails to provide a bond within 30 days, the owner would be subject to a $200 daily penalty. If the Commissioner uses the bond, the Commissioner would have to send the owner a demand for restoration. If the owner fails to restore within 30 days after the Commissioner’s first demand, the Commissioner would have to send a second demand, triggering 30 additional days for restoration; if the owner does not restore within these 30 days, the owner would be subject to a $200 daily penalty.