Banks that repossess foreclosed properties in Rhode Island will have to pay the properties’ tax and utility bills in a more timely fashion and post bonds for the properties’ upkeep if legislation approved by the General Assembly over the weekend is signed into law by Governor Carcieri.

Lawmakers’ approval of two bills aimed at cracking down on giant out-of-state banks and mortgage companies — not to mention dealers in stolen copper — represents just a handful of the dozen or more foreclosure-related bills introduced into legislature.

Among the more high-profile bills that failed to make it out of committee was the Tenant Notification Bill, aimed at protecting tenants in foreclosed properties by requiring the owners to maintain “essential services” such as running water. The bill, which also would have required that tenants be given a 60-day notice prior to being ordered to leave, was opposed by the Rhode Island Mortgage Bankers Association. Among the concerns was that the bill could inhibit banks’ ability to sell the properties.

Supporters of the bill argued that it was needed to protect tenants who live in properties that fall into foreclosure from having their water shut off because the former landlord didn’t pay their water or sewer bills.

“Needless to say, we are very disappointed,” Brenda J. Clement, director of the Statewide Housing Action Coalition, said in an e-mail yesterday. “We will be working with other groups to see if we can seek protections and notifications for tenants through other means.”

Among the bills headed to the governor’s desk is The Rhode Island Foreclosed Property Upkeep Act (H 7327 Sub A) which requires that any financial institution that purchases a foreclosed property post a bond with the municipality for 25 percent of the property’s assessed value to correct any code violations if the owner fails to do so.

The measure also includes a requirement aimed at cracking down on scrap metal dealers who buy copper pipes, which may have been stolen from foreclosed properties. It requires dealers licensed to buy or receive used metals other than junked cars or car parts to make sellers show photo identification. The scrap metal seller also has to sign a document stating that he or she is the property’s legal owner and “when, where and in what manner the property was obtained.” The dealer must keep the documentation for at least two years and provide it at the request of law enforcement officials.

To ensure that municipalities get the money they are owed for property taxes and utilities on foreclosed properties, state lawmakers passed the Mortgage Foreclosure and Sale Act (S 2057 Sub A). The act requires the foreclosure deed, which legally transfers the property, must be filed within 45 days of a foreclosure auction or sale. That way, cities and towns are not delayed in collecting property taxes, water charges or other fees owed because of delays in filing the foreclosure deed. (The bill was revised from the original 30 day period to 45 days.)

To ease the burden of foreclosures on condominium associations, legislators approved an amendment to the condo law (H 7512 Sub A) which allows condo associations to recoup foreclosure costs through a six-month priority lien. The costs can include advertisement, auctioneer fees and other foreclosure costs up to $5,000 or, if including attorney’s fees, up to $7,500.

The legislature also approved a bill (H 7469 Sub A) to limit the amount of time that can pass between the date of the first mortgage foreclosure advertisement and that of the actual foreclosure auction.

larditi@projo.com