Canyon Lake is requiring the owners of foreclosed homes to register the properties with the city or face fines as it aims to curb what city officials are calling the blight caused by neglected and abandoned houses.

The owner has 15 days once the foreclosed property is acquired to register it with the city and pay a $130 annual registration fee. Those who fail to register in the period face a fine of up to $1,000 a day.

The house then must be inspected to determine if it meets city code. The owner then will be required to maintain the property to the same standards as similar houses in the city.

Once the house is sold by a bank or lender, the purchaser is required to notify the city of the sale to end the registration requirement.

"We're asking that whoever owns the property to maintain them," said Mayor Mary Craton. "Other cities have done this. As a government agency, we have the power."

There are no figures on how many homes in Canyon Lake are listed on the registry because the effort has just gotten started, said Councilman Barry Talbot, chairman of the city's finance subcommittee.

But there are about 125 foreclosed properties in the city, and another 20 to 30 a month are receiving notices of foreclosure, Talbot said. Many of those homes have fallen into disrepair, while some have been taken over by vagrants.

"We've had some squatter problems," Talbot said.

Approval of the ordinance makes Canyon Lake one of several cities in Riverside County and the county itself to require foreclosed properties be maintained. The cities include Temecula, Murrieta, San Jacinto, Lake Elsinore and Beaumont.

The ordinances are geared toward requiring lenders that owned foreclosed homes to perform routine maintenance, such as cleaning pools, maintaining lawns, removing weeds and debris and making sure the house is secure.

Talbot said the ordinance approved recently by the City Council would bolster those efforts by helping identify the owners of the properties while also keeping an eye on the property.

"It also helps the lending institutions to have somebody out here closer to the property," Talbot said. "We can contact them. They appreciate that, too."

Reach Gene Ghiotto at 951-375-3729 or gghiotto@PE.com