Requires mortgage lenders to maintain vacant, age-restricted dwelling units during foreclosure.
Summary
Assembly Bill 713 would require mortgage creditors, after receiving notice that a unit in an age-restricted community has become vacant or abandoned during a foreclosure, to step into the owner’s shoes for certain community obligations. In addition to the existing foreclosure-related maintenance duties already imposed on creditors for residential property, the bill specifically requires the creditor to pay monthly maintenance fees and the unit’s share of common expenses, and to maintain the unit in accordance with the community’s bylaws, rules, and regulations. A community representative may notify the creditor of the vacancy, triggering these obligations before title transfers to the creditor or another party.
The bill also amends New Jersey’s vacant-and-abandoned foreclosure statute to treat nonpayment of a condominium or age-restricted community unit’s monthly maintenance fees and common expenses as evidence of vacancy or abandonment. It preserves the creditor’s ability to recover maintenance and abatement costs from the title owner in a foreclosure or other action, and it gives the community the same recourse against the creditor that it would have against the owner if the creditor fails to pay or maintain the unit after notice.
Impact
A713 would amend two existing statutes: the foreclosure property-maintenance notice and enforcement law in P.L.2008, c.127 (C.46:10B-51) and the vacant-and-abandoned foreclosure provisions in P.L.2012, c.70 (C.2A:50-73). Its practical effect would be to expand creditor responsibilities in foreclosures involving age-restricted communities, making lenders responsible for ongoing maintenance fees, common charges, and upkeep of vacant units during the foreclosure process. It would also strengthen municipal and community enforcement by allowing the same remedies against creditors that apply to title owners, and by adding nonpayment of community charges to the list of indicia used to prove abandonment.
Sentiment
No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no documented floor or committee sentiment to summarize. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears designed to address maintenance and financial burdens created when age-restricted units sit vacant during foreclosure, suggesting a consumer- and community-protection rationale. The bill’s sponsors frame it as a targeted fix for age-restricted communities rather than a broad foreclosure overhaul.
Contention
The main likely point of contention is the shift of financial and maintenance responsibility from the homeowner to the mortgage creditor before title has transferred, which could be viewed by lenders as imposing owner-like obligations during a period when they do not yet hold title. Community associations and municipalities would likely support the bill because it gives them a clearer remedy for unpaid fees and neglected vacant units, while creditors may object to being liable for common charges and maintenance costs, especially in cases where foreclosure is pending but not complete. Another possible issue is the bill’s use of nonpayment of maintenance fees as evidence of vacancy or abandonment, which could affect foreclosure procedures and the threshold for summary foreclosure relief.