Leominster, MA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Article V of Chapter 4 of the Leominster Code of Ordinances, adopted to prevent unsecured and unmaintained foreclosed properties from endangering the public, occupants, abutters and public safety officers, requires every owner, including out-of-state lenders, trustees and servicing companies, to register a foreclosed property with the director of the health department within seven days of the foreclosure date under Section 4-15. The registration must list an owner or agent's name, phone number and in-state mailing address, certify whether the property is vacant, and designate a local property manager available twenty-four hours a day who must respond to the director's notices within twenty-four hours.

Registration is valid for one calendar year and requires a one-hundred-dollar annual fee, with renewal due within thirty days of expiration. Section 4-16 then sets maintenance and security duties: the owner or manager must inspect a vacant property at least monthly, keep buildings and structures in good repair, remove trash and debris, mow lawns and maintain landscaping, and repair or replace broken windows or doors within thirty days, since boarding them up is prohibited except as a temporary measure of thirty days or less. The director of the health department, the fire chief or their designee enforces the article and may inspect registered properties at their discretion under Section 4-17, and an aggrieved owner can appeal a decision to the full board of health under Section 4-19 within thirty days of the decision.