2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 9 - Civil Code-Ancillaries › §9:5633.1. Blighted property in certain municipalities; acquisitive prescription

RS 9:5633.1 - Blighted property in certain municipalities; acquisitive prescription
A. In an incorporated municipality that is under a home rule charter, having a population between six thousand six hundred fifty and seven thousand six hundred fifty, according to the latest federal decennial census, or in the city of Lake Charles, with the approval of the Lake Charles City Council, and upon compliance with this Section and the applicable provisions of an ordinance adopted pursuant to Subsection M of this Section, ownership of an immovable may be acquired by the prescription of three years without the need of just title or possession in good faith. The requirements for the acquisitive prescription of three years are as follows:
(1) The land and all improvements thereon shall be located in the municipality and shall have been declared or certified blighted after an administrative hearing, pursuant to R.S. 13:2575 or 2576.
(2) The following documents in Subparagraphs (a) and (c) of this Paragraph shall be filed in the mortgage and conveyance records for the parish where the immovable property is situated:
(a) An affidavit by the possessor of the immovable property stating the name and address of the possessor, stating the intention of the possessor to take corporeal possession of the immovable property for the possessor's own account in accordance with this Section, stating that such corporeal possession shall commence no sooner than fourteen calendar days after the date of filing of the affidavit and giving a short legal description of the immovable property intended to be possessed.
(b) An owner of immovable property having common boundaries with the immovable shall have a first right of possession to such immovable. In the event more than one owner of immovable property having common boundaries with the immovable files the resolution and affidavit as described in Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph, the owner of property having common boundaries who files first, shall secure the first right to assert possession of the immovable. An owner of immovable property having common boundaries with the immovable has the right to file within fourteen days of the municipality passing the resolution. After fourteen days have elapsed, any interested party may avail himself of the provisions of this Section.
(c) There shall be annexed to and filed with the affidavit described in Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph a certified copy of the judgment, order, declaration, determination, resolution, or ordinance of the municipality, certified by the municipality as a true copy, hereinafter referred to as "resolution" declaring the property as an unoccupied premises, and as either blighted, neglected, littered, abandoned, constituting a public nuisance, in a dangerous and dilapidated condition, in a state of disrepair, overgrown by weeds or grass, or on which junked motor vehicles are parked.
(3) Within thirty days after the affidavit and resolution are filed as described in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, the resolution and affidavit shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the owner at the address shown on the tax rolls of the assessor and to all parties having an interest in the immovable property, including but not limited to all mortgage holders, as shown by the conveyance and mortgage records, at the address of each party as shown in those records. Failure to adequately comply with this Paragraph shall cause the forfeiture of any and all rights of the possessor granted in this Section.
(4) Within one month after the resolution and affidavit are filed as described in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, a notice shall be affixed to at least one prominent location on the immovable, including but not limited to a front door, front gate or entry, or next to a mailbox. The notice shall state the name and address of the possessor; that the possessor intends to take corporeal possession of the immovable for the possessor's own account; and the date that the notice is affixed.
(5) The possessor shall take corporeal possession peaceably, and commence within a reasonable time, not to exceed forty-five days, to maintain and repair the property, and shall continue with reasonable diligence to do so and improve its condition, until the property is no longer blighted or in disrepair. The municipality shall have the right to determine if this obligation of the possessor is being completed.
(6) All ad valorem taxes, interest, and penalties due and payable shall be paid in full by the possessor.
B. If, after notice to the possessor and a contradictory hearing, the municipality determines that the possessor is not complying with the possessor's obligation set forth in Paragraphs (A)(5) and (6) of this Section or should any possessor seeking to acquire pursuant to this Section fail to satisfy any of the requisites for acquisitive prescription listed in Subsection A of this Section, then the right to possession, the running of prescription, and the effect of the affidavits described in this Section shall cease, and all rights which may have accrued thereunder shall be terminated, except as specifically set forth in this Section.
C. The possessor shall not demolish any structure on the immovable unless the municipality finds the structure to be a public nuisance and authorizes the demolition.
D. If the possessor has met the requisites listed in Subsection A of this Section, the possessor shall not be liable to the owner of the immovable for any tortious act or any civil claim or cause of action related to the possession of the possessor which may have occurred on or after the date that corporeal possession was taken, including but not limited to trespass and demolition of the improvements, and such possessor shall not be subject to criminal prosecution for trespass upon the immovable or for demolition of the improvements. Nothing provided in this Section shall prevent the owner from instituting and prosecuting a real action against the possessor pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Article 3651 et seq.
E.(1) In the event the owner is successful in bringing a real action against the possessor pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Article 3651 et seq., the owner shall reimburse the possessor for all monies advanced by the possessor for attorney fees and costs, tax statements or researches, mortgage, or conveyance certificates, title abstracts, filing fees, postage, copies, printing, the payment of satisfaction of mortgages, judgments, liens, and other encumbrances, plus costs and expenses for cancellation thereof, and for all ad valorem taxes, interest, and penalties paid by the possessor on the immovable, the value of the improvements made or done on the immovable by the possessor after the date that corporeal possession was taken, and the cost or value of any cleaning, clearing, cutting, repairs, rehabilitation, maintenance, removal, work, or demolition to the extent not otherwise included in the value of the improvements and for any other reasonable costs incurred or value of work done by the possessor.
(2) In addition to the foregoing reimbursements, all monies advanced by the possessor shall earn, and the possessor shall be entitled to receive interest, at the judicial interest rate provided by R.S. 13:4202.
(3) To prove the cost or value of cleaning, clearing, cutting, repairs, rehabilitation, maintenance, removal, work, or demolition made or done on the immovable and of any times set forth in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, the possessor shall provide proof of payment from the persons who performed the work or from whom the materials were purchased or affidavits establishing the hourly rate generally charged for such work in the municipality in which the immovable subject to this Section is located and the number of hours spent on work with reasonable itemization. In the event the owner contests the validity of such documentation, the municipality shall appoint a person to determine the value or cost of said items.
F. If the possessor has met the requirements set forth in Paragraphs (A)(2), (3), and (4) of this Section, all expenses and monies for the matters set forth in Subsection E of this Section, that are paid or advanced by or owed to the possessor, shall be secured by a first lien and privilege on the immovable property described in the affidavit filed under Subparagraph (A)(2)(a) of this Section, which lien and privilege shall rank based on the date of recording in the mortgage records, the affidavit, and resolution as required in Subparagraphs (A)(2)(a) and (c) of this Section, and the lien and privilege shall be inferior to all previously recorded mortgages, privileges, liens, and judgments. Such lien and privilege shall be in favor of the possessor and, as such, it may be encumbered or assigned to secure any loan made to the possessor for the purpose of financing the acquisition of the immovable property subject to the acquisitive prescription provided for in this Section or for the cleaning, clearing, cutting, repairs, maintenance, rehabilitation work, demolition, or for the construction of improvements on or to the immovable property.
G. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section, no recorded mortgage, privilege, lien, or judgment encumbering the subject property shall be extinguished or impaired by the accrual of acquisitive prescription under this Section, and any holder of a mortgage, privilege, lien, or judgment, encumbering the subject property may enforce its rights through foreclosure, including the seizure and sale of the subject property, as though acquisitive prescription had not accrued.
H. The provisions governing acquisitive prescription of ten years and of thirty years apply to the prescription of three years provided in this Section to the extent that their application is consistent with the prescription of three years.
I. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection A of this Section, in the event that the possessor rehabilitates or constructs a residential or commercial structure, ownership of the immovable may be acquired by prescription without the need of just title or possession in good faith on the date that a certificate of use and occupancy shall be obtained by the possessor. For the purpose of this Subsection, "residential or commercial structure" shall not include garages, sheds, barns, or other outbuildings. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Subsection, no mortgage, privilege, lien, or judgment encumbering the subject property shall be extinguished or impaired by the accrual of acquisitive prescription under this Section, and any holder of a mortgage, privilege, lien, or judgment, encumbering the subject property may enforce its rights through foreclosure, including the seizure and sale of the subject property, as though acquisitive prescription had not accrued.
J. In the event the possessor does not comply with the provisions of Subsection A of this Section, or if a termination described in Subsection B of this Section occurs, any interested party required to be approved by the municipality may file in the mortgage records of the parish, a certified copy of the notice of termination described in Subsection B of this Section, which shall be conclusive evidence of the failure of the possessor to comply with the requirements necessary to acquire the immovable property by the prescription provided for in this Section and shall act to nullify the filed affidavit of intent to possess described in Paragraph (A)(2) of this Section, as if the affidavit was never filed, without any need to have the affidavit canceled or released of record, but the possessor retains all rights to preserve and recover the amounts set forth in Paragraphs (E)(1) through (3) of this Section, and the lien and privilege set forth in Subsection F of this Section.
K. The filing or depositing in the conveyance or mortgage records of any forged or wrongfully altered affidavit, notice of resolution, termination, certificate or proof, or mortgage certificate described in this Section, or containing a false statement or false representation of a material fact, shall be a felony pursuant to R.S. 14:133 and shall be actionable under Civil Code Article 2315.
L. This Section shall be liberally construed to encourage and to protect reasonable good faith work and expenditures by the possessor for cleaning, clearing, cutting, maintenance, grass cutting, trash and debris removal, repairs, rehabilitation, maintenance, demolition, and work on or to the subject property or any structures therein.
M. In addition to the notices and procedures provided in this Section, the city of Lake Charles shall adopt additional notice requirements or other conditions by city ordinance which must be met before allowing a possessor to occupy and possess blighted property under the provisions of this Section. These additional requirements may relate to the following matters, among any others not prohibited by the Constitution of Louisiana:
(1) Notice of any hearing provided in this Section.
(2) Notice regarding any determination made in connection with the hearing.
(3) The filing and recording of any document related to the hearing in the mortgage or conveyance records of the parish.
N. In the city of Lake Charles, a possessor of an immovable seeking to establish title to immovable property based on compliance with the requirements set forth in this Section and in any applicable city ordinance, may bring a possessory action pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Article 3655 or an action pursuant to any other procedure allowed by Louisiana law, and to seek a judgment confirming his ownership of the blighted property in accordance with and to the full extent of the boundaries established by the record title of the prior record owner. The court shall render a judgment declaring the possessor to be the record owner of the property upon sufficient proof that the possessor followed the procedures of this Section, in addition to other requirements promulgated by the city of Lake Charles pursuant to Subsection M of this Section if applicable.
Acts 2018, No. 568, §1, eff. May 30, 2018; Acts 2021, No. 103, §1.