Nebraska Legislature Bill LB 620
- sarahcooper402
- Mar 18
- 3 min read
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About LB 620:
Adopt the Neighborhood Revitalization Act and authorize certain civil actions relating to real property
LB 620 is titled “the Neighborhood Revitalization Act”, but LB 620 really feels to me like a wolf in a sheep’s disguise. LB 620 is 13 pages of definitions, legal terms and complexities I find difficult to fully understand and appreciate. LB 620 seems to have no guardrails whatsoever! LB 620 allows any aggrieved neighbor or interested party to bring legal action for perceived damages and award of attorney fees against any property owner (even homeowners) for not maintaining their property to the subjective “level which is no less than the community standards of the residential property in the area.” (bottom Pg3-4). Neighbor v Neighbor, HOA v Homeowner, what about the retired person/couple living on a fixed income during these times of high inflation?
In good faith, I believe MOPOA members keep our homes in great condition as our homes are our future (one day) retirement plan; however, the precedence LB620 sets is alarming! Our membership needs to come together to fight this legislation as anyone who becomes a victim to LB 620 will surely have an uphill battle to fight alone! Especially the elderly and those less fortunate who are unable to afford these costly exterior repairs! The state government in conjunction with ‘non-profit’ organizations will band together to become powerful entities to attempt seizure your property! As the property owner you will be forced to take the necessary time, effort and lean into the costly legal and court system to defend your property!
Public Hearing:
Wednesday, March 19th, 2025 at 1:30pm
Room 1525
MOPOA Members, please forward this email to everyone in Nebraska to OPPOSE LB 620.
What Can You Do?
Please use the following link to SUBMIT COMMENTS ONLINE FOR LB 620 and leave your comment for the Judicial Committee to express your OPPOSITION for LB 620 (see below for link)
Step 1: Click HERE
Step 2: Click the "Submit Comments Online for LB 620" button
Step 3: Once you confirm "I Understand" it will provide you a form to submit to our Judicial Committee
Step 4: Feel free to copy & paste the verbiage below
Step 5: Check your email to verify your submission (make sure to check your spam folder)
COMMENTS MUST SUBMITTED BY WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19th AT 8:00am
Suggested Text:
You can copy and edit the below text.
"I oppose LB620. My properties are in good condition, oftentimes better than other home exteriors in the community. My properties are my future retirement and I need to keep the homes exterior in excellent repair to avoid costly water damage (roof, sill plates, siding, overgrown trees). Although all my existing properties are very unlikely to have an issue with LB620, what if I acquire a property in poor exterior condition? Will I have time after a change of ownership to allow the new owner to make exterior repairs? What if I purchase the property in the late fall or early winter, will I be allowed to wait until spring to make roof repairs and paint? If these and other considerations are not fully appreciated what will happen is… I will NOT buy any properties below the standard of the community. The risk is too high to lose the property to the costly legal/court system. Oftentimes the properties we buy as investments will not qualify for an owner occupied home loan; this is due to the properties overall poor condition (especially exterior). LB620 will cause ‘mom and pop’ investors to look elsewhere; leaving these otherwise affordable homes to rot and decay. As these repairable homes deteriorate the issue of home affordability will continue to get worse!
I understand Senator Guereca is attempting to serve his constituents as he represents South Omaha; multiple news stories over the last year have documented the vacant and dilapidated properties with squatters – does Sen Guereca plan to vote in favor of the Anti-Squatter bill? City of Omaha Planning Department (Code Enforcement) along with the tools of the Vacant and Abandoned Property Ordinance (VAPO) and Omaha Land Bank (OLB) can already accomplish the provisions in LB620. How have these three (3) existing tools specifically failed to deliver on what Sen Guereca desires to accomplish? To my knowledge Sen Guereca has not brought any homes to the attention of MOPOA members; so our ‘mom and pop’ investors can attempt to acquire, make repairs and place these homes back into serviceable condition for our community and government tax base. Until other avenues are exhausted there is no reason to make unnecessary, duplicative laws and regulations which only add costs and burdens upon Nebraskans in an already un-affordable housing market.
Please reject LB620. Thank you!"
Sample Form:
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