Record foreclosure rates are prompting cities to act to prevent their taxpayers from having to foot some of the bill of maintaining the properties.

The Garland City Council approved an ordinance last week that requires owners of "abandoned and distressed" properties to post a $2,500 bond that the city can use to maintain the property.

"It's going to be an excellent tool ... to make sure companies do not get to have a free ride on the taxpayers and actually have to maintain their own properties at their own expense," said council member Laura Perkins Cox, who introduced the measure.

Garland officials said most people who hold titles to vacant foreclosed properties maintain and care for them, but a small number do not. The Garland ordinance affects only houses that are vacant and have had at least two notices of violations in a 12-month period.

The law also requires property owners to identify who is responsible for the property. The bond can be refunded if the property is sold or reoccupied, or if there are no further unaddressed violations within a 12-month period.

"This is really more of a proactive approach, preparing for what we're foreseeing coming on the horizon with numbers of foreclosures in the city," said Steve Killen, director of code compliance.

In most area cities, if a property owner does not respond to notices of violations regarding maintenance, the city contracts to have the work done and then bills the owner. If the owner does not respond, the city files a lien on the property, which must be cleared before it can be sold.

Garland's new law is part of a growing national response to vacant foreclosed homes. Some cities are requiring registration of properties. Chula Vista, Calif., has enacted a law that fines property owners up to $1,000 a day for not maintaining vacant homes.

"Cities, I think, have zeroed in on the real practical piece of this, the abandoned properties and how are they managed," said Jim Brooks, a staff member of the policy and research center of the National League of Cities.

Ms. Cox said she became interested in the issue after learning about the Chula Vista law but knew an exact replica would not work in Garland.

"Our issue was that we had some houses that were dragging down the neighborhoods and we wanted to deal with those," Ms. Cox said. "It's really an economic incentive for owners to take care of their properties."

The law is intended to reduce the need for liens, which can accumulate and hamper the eventual sale of a house, and can sometimes take years to be cleared.

Terry Smith, staff specialist with Lake Cities Association of Realtors, said his organization worked with the Garland council as the ordinance was being drafted to ensure that concerns of real estate companies and lenders were heard.

"As professionals we understand that we have a responsibility to the commitment of property ownership," Mr. Smith said.

Mr. Smith said one of the concerns was that it sometimes takes up to 180 days from the time a lender begins a foreclosure process until a management company can be hired to maintain the property.

"You hate to see any additional regulations or hoops you have to jump through, but we think this is a good compromise, again focusing on those businesses that don't hold up their end of the bargain," Mr. Smith said.

Ms. Cox said other area cities already have contacted Garland to see how the ordinance might be applied in their situations.

DeSoto officials rely on placing liens on properties if the city cannot recover costs of contracted lawn or other maintenance. However, the city has a program that allows homeowners associations to participate in identifying vacant houses and take on the responsibility of maintaining the yards and lawns while being reimbursed by the city.

But Charles Humphrey, DeSoto code enforcement manager, said only about 3 percent of all the city's contract mowing is handled by HOAs.

Mesquite also used contracted services and liens to maintain abandoned properties. However, it recently enacted a measure that helps better identify houses that are in violation.

Jeff Armstrong, Mesquite manager of planning and zoning, said the city has had a grass and weed ordinance for many years and recently added shrubs, trees and general landscape maintenance to that list.

"This is largely aimed at vacated and abandoned properties," Mr. Armstrong said.