A man in Arlington, Texas, recently found out that even though the bank foreclosed on his house two years ago, the city thinks he should be held responsible for maintaining the property.

When the man went to renew his license last July, he found out the city had issued a handful of outstanding fines and warrants in his name over things like un-cut grass, an old fence and operating an alarm without a permit.

“I feel like I’m being punished for something I didn’t do,” he tells CBS 11 in Dallas. “It’s really frustrating and costing me a lot of time.”

He’s currently fighting the city over the allegations, but in the meantime he’s paid $150 so he could renew his license and has also been maintaining the property.

“I don’t want to go to jail over nothing – never been to jail – don’t want to go to jail,” he explains.

The City of Arlington tells CBS 11 that because the title has changed to a new homeowner, the old one is still responsible.

However, the TV station’s legal expert disagrees: “If it’s foreclosed, it’s not his… You have to remember cities are all about grabbing money from you I mean they try anyway they can.”

In fact, we’ve written before about banks being fined for failing to maintain foreclosed properties, so it would seem that the city is either mistaken in believing this former homeowner is responsible or it is bullying him into paying a fine because he’s more likely to pay than the bank.

Man Fined By Arlington Over His Foreclosed Home [CBS 11]

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