Except as provided in N.J.S.A. 55:19-83, any property that has
not been legally occupied for a period of six months and which meets
any one of the following additional criteria may be deemed to be abandoned
property upon a determination by the designated public officer that:
A. The property is in need of rehabilitation in the reasonable judgment
of the public officer, and no rehabilitation has taken place during
that six-month period;
B. Construction was initiated on the property and was discontinued prior
to completion, leaving the building unsuitable for occupancy, and
no construction has taken place for at least six months as of the
date of the determination by the public officer pursuant to this section;
C. At least one installment of property tax remains unpaid and delinquent on the property in accordance with Chapter
4 of Title 54 of the Revised Statutes as of the date of a determination by the public officer pursuant to this section; or
D. The property has been determined to be a nuisance by the public officer
for one or more of the following reasons:
(1) The property has been found to be unfit for human habitation, occupancy
or use pursuant to statute;
(2) The condition and vacancy of the property materially increases the
risk of fire to the property and adjacent properties;
(3) The property is subject to unauthorized entry leading to potential
health and safety hazards; the owner has failed to take reasonable
and necessary measures to secure the property; or the municipality
has secured the property in order to prevent such hazards after the
owner has failed to do so;
(4) The presence of vermin or the accumulation of debris, uncut vegetation
or physical deterioration of the structure or grounds have created
potential health and safety hazards and the owner has failed to take
reasonable and necessary measures to remove the hazards; or
(5) The dilapidated appearance or other condition of the property materially
effects the welfare, including the economic welfare, of the residents
of the area in close proximity to the property, and the owner has
failed to take reasonable and necessary measures to remedy the conditions.
An owner may request removal of their property from the abandoned
property list prior to the sale of the tax sale certificate by paying
all taxes and City liens due, including interest and penalties, and:
A. By posting cash or a bond equal to the cost of remediating all conditions
which led to the property being determined to be abandoned and by
posting cash or a bond to cover the cost of any environmental cleanup
required on the property, evidenced by a certification by a licensed
engineer retained by the owner and reviewed and approved by the Mayor
and Commissioners, stating that the cash or bond adequately covers
the cost of the cleanup; or
B. By demonstrating to the satisfaction to the Mayor and Commissioners
that the conditions rendering the property abandoned have been remediated
in full; provided, however, that where the Mayor and Commissioners
find that the owner is actively engaged in remediating the conditions
because of which the property was determined to be abandoned, as evidenced
by significant rehabilitation activity on the property, the Mayor
and Commissioners may grant an extension of time of not more than
120 days for the owner to complete all work, during which time no
further proceedings will be taken against the owner or the property.
C. If the owner has posted cash or a bond in order to have a property
removed from the abandoned property list and the conditions which
caused the property to be designated as abandoned have not been fully
remediated within one year of the date of the posting of the cash
or bond, or, in the case of a property which requires a remediation
of any known, suspected or threatened release of contaminants, if
the owner has failed to enter into a memorandum of agreement with
the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection or an administrative
consent order, as the case may be, or if an agreement or order is
in effect but the owner has failed to perform the remediation in conformance
with the agreement or order, then the cash or bond shall be forfeited
to the City, which shall use the cash or bond and any interest which
has accrued thereon, for the purpose of demolishing or rehabilitation
of the property or performing the environmental remediation. Any funds
remaining after the property has been demolished, rehabilitated or
cleaned up shall be returned to the owner.
Notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.A. 54:5-19, or the provisions
of any other law to the contrary, if a property is included on the
abandoned property list and the property taxes or other City liens
due on the property are delinquent for six or more quarters as of
the date of expiration of the right to appeal the property's inclusion
on the list or, if an appeal has been filed, as of the date that all
opportunities for appeal of inclusion on the list have been exhausted,
then the tax lien on the property may be sold in accordance with the
procedures of the tax sale law on or after the 90th day following
the expiration of that time of appeal or final determination on an
appeal.
A. The City of Ventnor may, in its sole option, require that the sale
of the tax sale certificate or any subsequent assignment or transfer
of a tax sale certificate held by the City be subject to the express
condition that the purchaser or assignee shall be obliged to perform
and conclude any rehabilitation or repairs necessary to remove the
property from the abandoned property list pursuant to N.J.S.A. 55:19-55
and to post a bond in favor of the City of Ventnor to guarantee the
rehabilitation or repair of the property. The Mayor and Commissioners
may waive a requirement to post a bond for any purchaser, assignee
or transferee of a tax sale certificate that provides documentation
acceptable to the Mayor and Commissioners that the purchaser, assignee
or transferee is a qualified rehabilitation entity as defined in N.J.S.A.
55:19-80. The cost of rehabilitation and repairs and the costs of
the bond shall be added to the amount required to be paid by the owner
for redemption of the property. The purchaser, assignee or transferee
of the tax sale certificate who is required to rehabilitate and repair
the property shall be required to file the appropriate affidavits
with the tax collector, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:5-62, representing
the amount of monies expended periodically toward the rehabilitation
or repair of the property. A purchaser, assignee or transferee shall
be entitled to interest on the amounts expended, as set forth in the
affidavits, at the delinquent rate of interest for delinquencies in
excess of $1,500 in effect for the time period when the amounts were
expended, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:4-67. The tax sale certificate purchaser,
assignee or transferee, with the authority and permission of the City
of Ventnor, shall be permitted to enter in and upon the property for
the purposes of appraising the costs of rehabilitation and repair
and to perform all other acts required to guarantee the completion
of the rehabilitation or repair of the property. No rehabilitation
or repair work shall be commenced; however, until proof of adequate
liability insurance and an indemnification agreement, holding the
City of Ventnor, its officials, employees and agents harmless, has
been filed with the City Clerk.
B. If the City of Ventnor acquires a tax sale certificate for a property
on the abandoned property list, then, upon 10 days' written notice
to the property owner and any mortgagee as of the date of the filing
of the notice pursuant to N.J.S.A. 55:19-55, the City shall be permitted
to enter upon the property and remediate any conditions that caused
the property to be included on the abandoned property list. No remediation
shall be commenced; however, if within that ten-day period the owner
or mortgagee shall have notified the City, in writing, that the owner
or mortgagee has elected to perform the remediation itself. When the
owner or mortgagee elects to perform the remediation itself, it shall
be required to post bond in favor of the City of Ventnor in order
to insure performance. The amount and conditions of the bond shall
be determined by the Mayor and Commissioners.
C. The costs of remediation incurred by the City of Ventnor, as certified
to by the entity incurring the cost upon completion of the remediation,
shall constitute a lien upon the property first in time and right
to any other lien, whether the other liens were filed prior to or
after the filing of any lien by the City, except for City taxes, liens
and assessments and any lien imposed pursuant to the Spill Compensation
and Control Act, together with any interest thereon. The certification
of costs shall be filed and recorded as a lien by the entity incurring
the cost with the Atlantic County Clerk's Office.
D. The clearance, development, redevelopment or repair of property being
maintained as an abandoned property pursuant to this chapter shall
be considered a public purpose and public use and the power of eminent
domain may be lawfully exercised.
The City of Ventnor may hold special tax sales with respect
to those properties eligible for special tax sale pursuant to N.J.S.A.
54:5-19 which are also on the abandoned property list.
A. The Mayor and Commissioners shall establish criteria for eligibility
to bid on properties at the sale, which may include, but need not
be limited to:
(1) Documentation of the bidder's ability to rehabilitate or otherwise
reuse the property consistent with City plans and regulations;
(2) Commitments by the bidder to rehabilitate or otherwise reuse the
property, consistent with City plans and regulations;
(3) Commitments by the bidder to take action to foreclose on the tax
lien by a date certain; and
(4) Such other criteria as the Mayor and Commissioners may determine
are necessary to insure that the properties to be sold will be rehabilitated
or otherwise reused in a manner consistent with the public interest.
B. The Mayor and Commissioners may establish minimum bid requirements
for a special tax sale that are less than the full amount of the taxes,
interest and penalties due, to help insure that the properties will
be rehabilitated or otherwise utilized in a manner consistent with
the public interest.
C. The Mayor and Commissioners may combine properties in said special
tax sale into bid packages and require that bidders place a single
bid on each package, rejecting any and all bids on individual properties
that are submitted.
D. The Mayor and Commissioners may sell said properties subject to the
provision that, if the purchaser fails to carry out any commitment
that has been set forth as a condition of sale or misrepresents any
material qualification that has been established as a condition of
eligibility to bid pursuant thereto, then the properties and any interest
thereto acquired by the purchasers shall revert to the City, and any
amount paid by the purchaser at the special tax sale shall be forfeited
to the City.
E. In the event there are two or more qualified bidders for any property
or bid package in a special tax sale, the City may designate the unsuccessful
qualified bidder whose bid was closest to the successful bid as an
eligible purchaser. In the event that the selected purchaser of that
property or bid package fails to meet any of the conditions of sale
established by the City pursuant to this section and their interest
in the property or properties reverts to the City, the City may subsequently
designate the entity previously designated as an eligible purchaser
as the winning bidder for the property or properties, and assign the
tax sale certificates to that entity on the basis of that entity's
bid at the special tax sale, subject to the terms and conditions of
the special tax sale.
F. The City of Ventnor shall provide notice of a special tax sale pursuant
to N.J.S.A. 54:5-26. The notice shall include any special terms of
sale established by the City pursuant to this section. Nothing shall
prohibit the City from holding a special tax sale on the same day
as a standard or accelerated tax sale.