New Bedford, MA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Baseline rule
- No owner may create or maintain a nuisance
- Enforcing official
- Commissioner of inspectional services
- City repair cost cap
- 50% of structure's fair market value
- Cost recovery
- Debt against owner, collectible by property lien
- Penalty
- Cumulative fine per separate offense (Sec. 6-124)
Summary
New Bedford bars any owner from creating or maintaining a nuisance on their property, defining "nuisance" to include dilapidated, burned or dangerous structures, hazardous vegetation and debris, and buildings the department of inspectional services documents as unsafe; the commissioner of inspectional services can order repairs and, if the owner won't act, have the city repair or demolish the building and bill the owner.
Sec. 6-120. - Creation or maintenance of nuisance prohibited. No owner of property, land or buildings located in the City of New Bedford shall allow, create, maintain or cause to be created or maintained any nuisance in relation to such property, land or buildings.
Sec. 6-124. - Violations and penalties. (a)Each violation of any provision of this article shall be considered a separate offense hereunder.(b)The owner of any premises which has received proper notice of violation of this article and failed to correct such violation by the date specified in such notice shall be punishable by a cumulative fine for each separate offense and shall be liable for payment to the city within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of the request for payment thereof sent by certified and first class mail.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 19).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 6-120 sets the baseline: no owner may "allow, create, maintain or cause to be created or maintained any nuisance" on city property, land or buildings. Sec. 6-121 defines "nuisance" expansively to include burned structures not otherwise habitable, dilapidated real or personal property (deteriorated waterproofing, broken or unsecured windows and doors, missing weather protection), dangerous or unsafe structures, overgrown vegetation harboring vermin or stagnant water, dead or hazardous trees and debris, unlawful signs, exposed deteriorating personal property, vehicles left on porous surfaces, and any building the department of inspectional services documents as becoming dilapidated, attracting illegal activity, posing a fire hazard, or otherwise threatening safety and welfare.
Enforcement under Sec. 6-122 starts with a written notice and correction order from the commissioner of inspectional services, served personally, by mail, or by posting if the owner cannot be found. If the owner still fails to comply, Sec. 6-123 lets the city make the repairs itself, so long as the cost stays under 50 percent of the structure's fair market value as set by the Board of Assessors, or seek demolition once the commissioner determines the building is beyond repair and abatement efforts have failed; the city can also demolish immediately in an emergency and recover costs afterward. Costs the city advances become a debt against the owner, collectible by lien on the property under Sec. 6-123(c).
Violations & Fines
Sec. 6-124 makes each violation a separate offense and imposes a cumulative fine for every offense not corrected by the notice's deadline, payable to the city within 30 days of a certified billing. Unpaid fines and unpaid repair or demolition costs become a debt the city can pursue civilly or criminally, and the commissioner may also seek injunctive relief or enforced abatement in addition to any fine.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a property a "nuisance" under New Bedford's code?
Can the city repair my building without my permission?
What happens if a building is beyond repair?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in New Bedford
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