2018 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 33 - Municipalities and Parishes
RS 33:4754 - Liens for removal and securing dangerous structures; maintenance of property; interest; certain parishes and municipalities; assistance of national guard

§4754. Liens for removal and securing dangerous structures; maintenance of property; interest; certain parishes and municipalities; assistance of national guard

A.(1) The governing authority of the parish of Ouachita, Caddo, LaSalle, Grant, Lafourche, Catahoula, Vermilion, Plaquemines, St. Mary, Webster, DeSoto, Washington, Tangipahoa, Iberia, Ascension, St. James, St. John the Baptist, Natchitoches, Assumption, Cameron, Terrebonne, Beauregard, St. Landry, or St. Tammany, the governing authority of any municipality within one of said parishes, the governing authority of the city of Alexandria, Leesville, or Shreveport, and the governing authority of Acadia Parish or Calcasieu Parish may adopt ordinances, rules, and regulations in order to secure or cause to be secured any building or other structure situated within the respective parish or municipality, which, by reason of its nature or condition, endangers the public welfare or safety.

(2) Any governing authority included in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection may adopt ordinances, rules, and regulations in order to condemn and cause to be demolished, removed, or both, any building or other structure situated within the respective municipality or parish, which by reason of its nature or condition endangers the public welfare or safety.

(3) Any governing authority included in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection may by ordinance provide a method for securing, or demolishing or removing, or both, buildings or structures, as well as a method of maintaining property in a sanitary condition including grass cutting, weed abatement, or trash, debris, refuse, discarded or noxious matter, and garbage removal, at the expense of the property owner.

(4) Any governing authority included in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection may adopt ordinances providing for fines for the failure of any property owner to comply with ordinances adopted pursuant to this Section.

(5) Ordinances adopted pursuant to this Section shall include a provision for notification of the owner or any other party in interest and an opportunity to be heard.

B.(1) Upon failure of the property owner to pay any fine levied as provided by ordinance or any costs incurred by a municipality or parish included in Paragraph A(1) of this Section for securing, or demolition or removal, or both, of such structures, and for maintenance of property in a sanitary condition, the governing body of the municipality or parish may file a certified copy of the order levying a fine or fines or a copy of an invoice reflecting the amount of such costs with the recorder of mortgages, and the same, when so filed and recorded, shall operate as a lien and privilege in favor of the municipality or parish against the property.

(2) In addition, the ordinances of a parish or municipality included in Paragraph A(1) of this Section may provide for interest on costs incurred by the parish or municipality, as the case may be, which shall be paid prior to cancellation of the lien. The rate of interest shall not exceed the rate of legal interest, as provided in R.S. 9:3500, and shall be computed from the date of recordation of the lien until paid or enforced.

(3) The lien obtained by the municipality or parish pursuant to this Section shall include not only the costs provided for in Subsection A of this Section but shall include all attorney's fees and all costs incurred in the locating of the owner, notification of the owner, and the enforcement and collection of the amount secured by the lien.

(4) The municipality's or parish's privilege and lien shall prime all other liens or privileges against the property filed after the notice to the owner is filed with the recorder of mortgages pursuant to this Section, regardless of the date on which the municipality's or parish's lien and privilege is perfected, except that the municipality's or parish's lien and privilege will not prime other tax liens against the property.

C.(1)(a) After the municipality or parish has levied such fine or fines or incurred such costs as constitute the lien and privilege on the property, the director of finance or equivalent officer may add said amounts to the next ad valorem tax bill of the owner, and said amount shall be subject to the same interest and penalties as delinquent ad valorem taxes. "Equivalent officer" as used in this Subsection shall include the assessor of Terrebonne Parish.

(b)(i) When such amounts are added to an ad valorem tax bill in Calcasieu Parish, the sheriff effecting collection shall be reimbursed by the governing authority for an amount equal to fifteen percent of the amount of such charges actually collected from the property owner. This collection charge shall be in addition to such charges and shall also be added to the ad valorem tax bill of the property involved.

(ii) In the exercise of the authority granted by this Paragraph to the Calcasieu Parish governing authority, Calcasieu Parish shall be the sole and proper defendant in any action authorized by law to contest the addition of such charges to the ad valorem tax bill of the property involved.

(2) If within six months after the filing of the lien provided for in Subsection B of this Section, the property owner fails to pay such lien and any interest thereon, the director of finance or equivalent officer of the municipality or parish may offer for sale and subsequently sell or otherwise convey such property. The procedure for notice, advertisement, and sale of the property shall be governed by the law applicable to the sale of real property for delinquent municipal or parish taxes except that the property owner's right of redemption shall be limited to six months from the time the property is sold. Redemption by the original owner shall require reimbursement of any expenses incurred by the purchaser in the purchase and renovation of the property in addition to payment of liens placed on the property pursuant to this Section, interest thereon, and any amounts required by law applicable to the redemption of property sold for delinquent taxes.

(3) Alternatively, the privilege and lien may be enforced in the district court pursuant to the Code of Civil Procedure, and may be enforced either against the subject property or against the owner personally by ordinary process and subsequent seizure and sale or garnishment of other movable or immovable property of the owner pursuant to the Code of Civil Procedure.

(4) The amount of any municipal or parish lien operating against the property and any interest accruing thereon may be canceled in whole or in part by the governing authority of the municipality or parish in order to facilitate the sale or disposition of the property for the unpaid lien.

(5) The provisions of this Section shall not apply to any building or appurtenances on agricultural land when such land is used for agricultural purposes.

D. For the purposes of this Section, the term "secured" shall mean the closing of the building or structure by means of placing or attaching boards or other materials over doors, windows, and other means of entrance in order to prohibit persons from entering the building or structure and in order to maintain it in its present condition without further damage to such building or structure or danger to the public welfare and safety.

E.(1) The governing authority of a municipality or parish included in Paragraph A(1) of this Section may request and the adjutant general may assign, subject to the approval of the governor, national guard personnel and equipment to assist in the removal and demolition of condemned buildings, structures, or public nuisances. The provisions of this Subsection shall be applicable when the budget for the demolition and removal of condemned structures has been expended by the governing authority of the municipality or parish. However, the request must be accompanied by documentation that all procedural protections and substantive restraints have been adhered to by the governing authority.

(2) In the event all procedural protections and substantive restraints have been adhered to by the governing authority, the respective municipality or parish and its personnel and the national guard and its personnel shall not be liable to the owner of the building, structure, or public nuisance for any damages sustained resulting from the demolition of the building, structure, or public nuisance.

Acts 1987, No. 196, §1, eff. June 19, 1987; Acts 1990, No. 778, §1; Acts 1992, No. 236, §2; Acts 1993, No. 591, §1, eff. June 15, 1993; Acts 1993, No. 796, §1; Acts 1996, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 72, §1, eff. May 10, 1996; Acts 1997, No. 703, §1, eff. July 7, 1997; Acts 1997, No. 938, §1; Acts 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 51, §1; Acts 1999, No. 97, §1, eff. June 9, 1999; Acts 1999, No. 161, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2000; Acts 2001, No. 94, §1, eff. May 24, 2001; Acts 2005, No. 281, §1, eff. June 29, 2005.