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Abandoned Residential Property Program
Over the last decade, the City of Chula Vista has been among the fastest growing communities in the State. As such, we have experienced an increase in the number of single-family homes built each year. The cooling housing market has lead to an increase in financially distressed properties. Foreclosures are increasing in number and those that are vacant are having a negative impact on the surrounding neighborhood and community as a whole.
It is not unusual for homes that are in the foreclosure process, to sit vacant and unmaintained for months on end. These properties can discourage potential buyers of adjacent maintained properties and can devalue neighboring properties by thousands of dollars. This impact destabilizes neighborhoods and can lead to neighborhood blight and reduced property values.
The Abandoned Residential Property Registration Program is intended to address those properties that are vacant and financially distressed. The program requires mortgage lenders to inspect defaulted properties to confirm that they are occupied. If a property is found to be vacant, the program requires that the lender exercise the abandonment clause within their mortgage contract, register the property with the City and immediately begin to secure and maintain the property to the neighborhood standard.
They must also hire a local company to inspect the property on a weekly basis. The property must be posted with the name and 24-hour contact number of the company responsible for the weekly inspection, maintenance and security of the property. This will remove the City’s Code Enforcement Section from spending limited resources to act as the property manager. It also allows neighbors to have direct contact with a responsible party. It is hoped that the combination of observant neighbors and an accessible local responsible party will deter and arrest any potential deterioration of the property and thus preserve the neighborhood.
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