Blighted and dangerous buildings are handled under MGL c.139 §1, which lets a community, after written notice and a hearing, declare a burnt, dilapidated, or dangerous structure a nuisance and order it repaired or removed. Counties have no role.
Property blight is a municipal matter grounded in state law, not county ordinance. Under MGL c.139 §1, the board or officer in Brockton, Plymouth, Marshfield, Scituate, Duxbury, or Wareham may, after written notice to the owner and a hearing, make and record an order adjudging a burnt, dilapidated, or dangerous building or structure to be a nuisance. The community can then order the owner to remove or make it safe, and act itself if the owner does not. Boards of health add parallel authority over unsanitary conditions such as trash accumulation and vermin harborage under MGL c.111 §31. Together these tools drive local code enforcement against neglected property.
An owner who ignores a c.139 §1 nuisance order can have the community demolish or secure the structure and lien the cost against the property, plus separate sanitary code fines up to $500 per day.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how North Plymouth's property blight rules stack up against other locations.
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