HB 3363 Summary

• Declares abandoned buildings within cities constitute a public nuisance due to detrimental effects on public health, safety, welfare, and property values.

• Establishes procedures for municipal governing bodies to determine if a building is abandoned and abate the nuisance through regulatory, police, and fire protection actions after providing at least 10 days' notice to property owners and mortgage holders.

• Allows cities to assess and collect actual costs of abatement from property owners, including quarterly regulatory costs and other municipal expenses, with unpaid costs becoming a lien on the property coequal with ad valorem taxes.

• Defines "abandoned building" as unoccupied buildings that have been declared unsecured/dilapidated under existing law or have two or more code violation convictions; for multitenant buildings, means more than 50% unoccupied by square footage or unit count.

• Effective November 1, 2014; exempts agricultural properties and does not apply to mineral interests severed from surface interests.