§ 1310. Vacant and abandoned property; statewide vacant and abandoned
property electronic registry. 1. The department of financial services
shall maintain a statewide vacant and abandoned property registry in the
form of an electronic database. The department of financial services
may, in accordance with the applicable provisions of the state finance
law, retain a private contractor to administer such database for the
purposes of satisfying this requirement. The information provided to the
department of financial services pursuant to this section shall be
deemed and treated confidential, provided however, the superintendent of
financial services, in her or his sole discretion, may release the
information if it is in the best interest of the public. Any such
released information shall continue to be treated confidentially by the
parties. The department of financial services shall, upon written
request, provide public officials of any state district, county, city,
town or village with access to information specific to such public
official's district, county, city, town or village maintained on such
database to further the purposes of this section, section thirteen
hundred seven of this article or article nineteen-A of this chapter, or
any other related law, code, rule, regulation or ordinance.

2. A lender, assignee or mortgage loan servicer shall submit or cause
to be submitted to the department of financial services information
required by the superintendent of financial services about any vacant
and abandoned residential real property, as that term is defined in
subdivision two of section thirteen hundred nine of this article, or as
the superintendent of financial services may otherwise define that term,
within twenty-one business days of when the lender, assignee or mortgage
loan servicer learns, or should have learned, that such property is
vacant and abandoned. Such information shall, at a minimum, include: (a)
the current name, address and contact information for the lender,
assignee or mortgage loan servicer responsible for maintaining the
vacant property; (b) whether a foreclosure action has been filed for the
property in question, and, if so, the date on which the foreclosure
action was commenced; and (c) the last known address and contact
information for the mortgagor(s) of record.

3. Where any of the information contained in a lender's, assignee's or
mortgage loan servicer's initial submission to the registry has
materially changed since such submission, such lender, assignee or
mortgage loan servicer shall make an amended submission to the registry
not later than thirty days after the lender, assignee or mortgage loan
servicer learns, or reasonably should have learned, of the new or
changed information.

4. The department of financial services is authorized and empowered to
adopt such rules and regulations as may in the judgment of the
superintendent of financial services necessary for the effective
administration and operation of such registry, including but not limited
to rules and regulations governing access to the registry and specifying
the manner and frequency of registration and the information that must
be provided. The superintendent of financial services may amend such
regulations from time to time as necessary to effectuate the purpose of
this section and section thirteen hundred seven of this article.

5. The department of financial services shall establish and maintain a
toll-free hotline that neighbors of real property that is, or appears to
be, vacant and abandoned residential real property, as such term is
defined in subdivision two of section thirteen hundred nine of this
article, and other community residents can use to report to the
superintendent of financial services any hazards, blight or other
concerns related to such property. The department of financial services
shall include on its official public website information about such
toll-free hotline.

No local law, ordinance, or resolution shall impose a duty to register
vacant and abandoned property as defined in section thirteen hundred
nine of the article in a manner inconsistent with the provisions of this
section that are related to registration as provided under section
thirteen hundred ten of this article or establish related penalties or
other monetary obligation, with respect to a state or federally
chartered bank, savings bank, savings and loan association or credit
union that originates, owns, services or maintains a mortgage related to
such property.

No local law, ordinance, or resolution shall impose a duty to maintain
vacant and abandoned property upon any state or federally chartered
bank, savings bank, savings and loan association or credit union that
originates, owns, services or maintains a mortgage related to such
property for which the provisions of this section, pursuant to the
opening paragraph of section thirteen hundred eight of this article, do
not apply.