NOLA Property Owners Beware: "Usufruct" = U So F*cked : NOLA Indymedia

NOLA City Officials unveil scheme to "legally" acquire properties from Homeowners

by Leenie Halbert

A recent LA Times article reported on the city's (and perhaps the state's) working plan to deploy the concept of "usufruct" to gain control over privately owned properties in the wake of Katrina (originally written by Scott Gold on 10/23/05 and is posted at: http://www.latimes.com/la-na-reclaim23oct23,0,5925433.story?coll=la-story-footer).

Residents and homeowners need to be aware of the implications of this, as it appears the government's best strategy so far for acquiring large parcels that could be prime land for redevelopment and gentrification schemes.

Essentially, city housing officials are proposing a plan that would persuade owners of "damaged" properties to sign over "controlling rights" of the property to the government (most likely the city of New Orleans, although the money for the program is likely to come from the federal government). The government then would pay to "make the home habitable again," at which point it would be rented out to "essential workers" for reduced, subsidized rents. Such workers are likely to include police and contractors. Proponents of the plan believe that there are as many as 100,000 homes in NOLA that are damaged sufficiently to be part of this program.

Here is where the scheme gets particularly disturbing. Once property owners have contractually agreed to give up control of the property to the government for some specified time -- perhaps three to five years -- the owner can only return and regain control over the property if they can repay the government for the repairs made and expenses incurred.

If the owner cannot pay back the government for years of repairs/expenses, or chooses not to return after such a lengthy period of time, the usufruct contract would give the government the right to sell the property and share in the profits from the sale. Land speculators and developers could thus acquire large blocks of land by buying up these properties.

This scheme is a serious inversion of the actual concept of usufruct, which historically gives the public rights of usage over private properties. It has been retained in some European nations to allow, for instance, travelers to camp briefly in a property owner's yard on the theory that land still belongs to everyone even when an individual secures legal title to it. It is not intended to allow the sort of shift to government and developers' control that is being contemplated here.

One housing official noted that "the entire redevelopment of New Orleans rests on this issue." This is understandable since, if the city attempted to acquire properties through eminent domain procedures, they would have to pay compensation to private owners before taking the land. A widespread use of condemnation powers such as eminent domain would set off a political backlash and could be too expensive for the cash strapped Orleans Parish and Louisiana state government.

Under the usufruct scheme, however, the state slowly acquires title to properties with the promise of rebuilding, renovating, and sharing profits with homeowners. When the "repair bill" becomes due in a few years, the thought likely is that most homeowners will either have moved on or will be unable to come up with the money to repay the city, thus wresting title from the owner slowly and subtly over a period of years and not in one fell swoop that is likely to set off major concerns.

The whole key to this scheme is that if the owner enters into the agreement voluntarily, then the contract will hold and the entanglements of eminent domain will be avoided. A housing advisor noted that "in some cases, if owners are uncooperative . . . then perhaps a more forceful implementation of receivership or usufruct can be established. This tool can be used for voluntary agreements with owners or for involuntary control by the city."

Property owners need to realize the implications of their decisions in the long term as devious plans such as this are unveiled with the promise of short term gains. The future of the city may well indeed depend upon this process.

Leenie Halbert is an activist and resident of the 9th ward in New Orleans. She is an active member of the Green Party of Louisiana, Advocates for Louisiana Public Healthcare, and the New Orleans Food Coop. She can be contacted at (504) 947-8899 or via email at leenie@leenie.com