§ 33:4754 — Liens for removal and securing dangerous structures; maintenance of property;

§4754. Liens for removal and securing dangerous structures; maintenance of property;
interest; certain parishes and municipalities; assistance of national guard
A.(1) The governing authority of the parish of Ouachita, Caddo, LaSalle, Grant,
Lafourche, Catahoula, Vermilion, Plaquemines, St. Mary, Webster, DeSoto, Washington,
Tangipahoa, Iberia, Ascension, St. James, St. John the Baptist, Natchitoches, Assumption,
Cameron, Terrebonne, Beauregard, St. Landry, or St. Tammany, the governing authority of
any municipality within one of said parishes, the governing authority of the city of
Alexandria, Leesville, Lafayette, or Shreveport, and the governing authority of Acadia
Parish, Lafayette Parish, or Calcasieu Parish may adopt ordinances, rules, and regulations in
order to secure or cause to be secured any building or other structure situated within the
respective parish or municipality, which, by reason of its nature or condition, endangers the
public welfare or safety.
(2) Any governing authority included in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection may adopt
ordinances, rules, and regulations in order to condemn and cause to be demolished, removed,
or both, any building or other structure situated within the respective municipality or parish,
which by reason of its nature or condition endangers the public welfare or safety.
(3) Any governing authority included in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection may by
ordinance provide a method for securing, or demolishing or removing, or both, buildings or
structures, as well as a method of maintaining property in a sanitary condition including grass
cutting, weed abatement, or trash, debris, refuse, discarded or noxious matter, and garbage
removal, at the expense of the property owner.
(4) Any governing authority included in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection may adopt
ordinances providing for fines for the failure of any property owner to comply with
ordinances adopted pursuant to this Section.
(5) Ordinances adopted pursuant to this Section shall include a provision for
notification of the owner or any other party in interest and an opportunity to be heard.
B.(1) Upon failure of the property owner to pay any fine levied as provided by
ordinance or any costs incurred by a municipality or parish included in Paragraph A(1) of this
Section for securing, or demolition or removal, or both, of such structures, and for
maintenance of property in a sanitary condition, the governing body of the municipality or
parish may file a certified copy of the order levying a fine or fines or a copy of an invoice
reflecting the amount of such costs with the recorder of mortgages, and the same, when so
filed and recorded, shall operate as a lien and privilege in favor of the municipality or parish
against the property.
(2) In addition, the ordinances of a parish or municipality included in Paragraph A(1)
of this Section may provide for interest on costs incurred by the parish or municipality, as
the case may be, which shall be paid prior to cancellation of the lien. The rate of interest
shall not exceed the rate of legal interest, as provided in R.S. 9:3500, and shall be computed
from the date of recordation of the lien until paid or enforced.
(3) The lien obtained by the municipality or parish pursuant to this Section shall
include not only the costs provided for in Subsection A of this Section but shall include all
attorney's fees and all costs incurred in the locating of the owner, notification of the owner,
and the enforcement and collection of the amount secured by the lien.
(4) The municipality's or parish's privilege and lien shall prime all other liens or
privileges against the property filed after the notice to the owner is filed with the recorder of
mortgages pursuant to this Section, regardless of the date on which the municipality's or
parish's lien and privilege is perfected, except that the municipality's or parish's lien and
privilege will not prime other tax liens against the property.
C.(1)(a) After the municipality or parish has levied such fine or fines or incurred
such costs as constitute the lien and privilege on the property, the director of finance or
equivalent officer may add said amounts to the next ad valorem tax bill of the owner, and
said amount shall be subject to the same interest and penalties as delinquent ad valorem
taxes. "Equivalent officer" as used in this Subsection shall include the assessor of
Terrebonne Parish.
(b)(i) When such amounts are added to an ad valorem tax bill in Calcasieu Parish,
the sheriff effecting collection shall be reimbursed by the governing authority for an amount
equal to fifteen percent of the amount of such charges actually collected from the property
owner. This collection charge shall be in addition to such charges and shall also be added
to the ad valorem tax bill of the property involved.
(ii) In the exercise of the authority granted by this Paragraph to the Calcasieu Parish
governing authority, Calcasieu Parish shall be the sole and proper defendant in any action
authorized by law to contest the addition of such charges to the ad valorem tax bill of the
property involved.
(2) If within six months after the filing of the lien provided for in Subsection B of
this Section, the property owner fails to pay such lien and any interest thereon, the director
of finance or equivalent officer of the municipality or parish may offer for sale and
subsequently sell or otherwise convey such property. The procedure for notice,
advertisement, and sale of the property shall be governed by the law applicable to the sale
of real property for delinquent municipal or parish taxes except that the property owner's
right of redemption shall be limited to six months from the time the property is sold.
Redemption by the original owner shall require reimbursement of any expenses incurred by
the purchaser in the purchase and renovation of the property in addition to payment of liens
placed on the property pursuant to this Section, interest thereon, and any amounts required
by law applicable to the redemption of property sold for delinquent taxes.
(3) Alternatively, the privilege and lien may be enforced in the district court pursuant
to the Code of Civil Procedure, and may be enforced either against the subject property or
against the owner personally by ordinary process and subsequent seizure and sale or
garnishment of other movable or immovable property of the owner pursuant to the Code of
Civil Procedure.
(4) The amount of any municipal or parish lien operating against the property and
any interest accruing thereon may be canceled in whole or in part by the governing authority
of the municipality or parish in order to facilitate the sale or disposition of the property for
the unpaid lien.
(5) The provisions of this Section shall not apply to any building or appurtenances
on agricultural land when such land is used for agricultural purposes.
D. For the purposes of this Section, the term "secured" shall mean the closing of the
building or structure by means of placing or attaching boards or other materials over doors,
windows, and other means of entrance in order to prohibit persons from entering the building
or structure and in order to maintain it in its present condition without further damage to such
building or structure or danger to the public welfare and safety.
E.(1) The governing authority of a municipality or parish included in Paragraph A(1)
of this Section may request and the adjutant general may assign, subject to the approval of
the governor, national guard personnel and equipment to assist in the removal and demolition
of condemned buildings, structures, or public nuisances. The provisions of this Subsection
shall be applicable when the budget for the demolition and removal of condemned structures
has been expended by the governing authority of the municipality or parish. However, the
request must be accompanied by documentation that all procedural protections and
substantive restraints have been adhered to by the governing authority.
(2) In the event all procedural protections and substantive restraints have been
adhered to by the governing authority, the respective municipality or parish and its personnel
and the national guard and its personnel shall not be liable to the owner of the building,
structure, or public nuisance for any damages sustained resulting from the demolition of the
building, structure, or public nuisance.

Legislative History

Acts 1987, No. 196, §1, eff. June 19, 1987; Acts 1990, No. 778, §1; Acts 1992, No. 236, §2; Acts 1993, No. 591, §1, eff. June 15, 1993; Acts 1993, No. 796, §1; Acts 1996, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 72, §1, eff. May 10, 1996; Acts 1997, No. 703, §1, eff. July 7, 1997; Acts 1997, No. 938, §1; Acts 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 51, §1; Acts 1999, No. 97, §1, eff. June 9, 1999; Acts 1999, No. 161, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2000; Acts 2001, No. 94, §1, eff. May 24, 2001; Acts 2005, No. 281, §1, eff. June 29, 2005; Acts 2025, No. 338, §1.