Manchester, CT Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Manchester's Property Maintenance Code, enacted May 1, 1999 and amended July 5, 2016, is enforced by a Blight Enforcement Officer designated by the Town General Manager. Section 242-13 defines BLIGHTED PREMISES to include any building, structure, unit, parcel or lot, or a building under construction more than 24 months without a certificate of occupancy, that shows at least one listed condition: a serious health or safety threat, or physical decay such as missing or boarded windows or doors, collapsing walls or roofs, exterior walls with holes or rot, cracked foundations, decayed overhangs or chimneys, torn insect screens, vermin infestation, garbage or abandoned vehicles on the premises, overgrown grass or weeds at least one foot in height, graffiti, or an unsecured vacant building.

Illegal activity documented by police, a fire hazard documented by the Fire Marshal, or a State Building Code violation can also independently make a property blighted. Under Section 242-6, once the Blight Enforcement Officer designates a property blighted, the owner gets written notice by certified mail and 60 days to correct the condition, with the possibility of 60-day extensions if the owner is diligently working on it. If the property is still uncorrected at the end of that period, the officer issues a citation and imposes a $100 per-day fine, with each day of continuing violation a separate offense; the owner has 15 days to pay uncontested or can demand a hearing before a citation hearing officer appointed by the Board of Directors. An unpaid fine becomes a lien on the real estate.