Dilapidated, dangerous, or blighted buildings can be declared a nuisance by the city. After written notice and a hearing, owners must repair, secure, or demolish the structure or face the town doing it and billing them.
MGL c.139 §1 lets a city's aldermen or a town's selectmen, after written notice to the owner and a hearing, record an order adjudging a burnt, dilapidated, or dangerous building a nuisance. Essex County communities use this alongside local blight and sanitary codes to force cleanup of unsafe structures, trash accumulation, and collapsing buildings. If the owner does not comply, the municipality can abate the nuisance and lien the cost to the property.
Ignoring a nuisance order lets the city repair, board up, or demolish the structure and place the cost as a lien on the property.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Saugus, MA
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Essex County, MA
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Essex County, MA
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Essex County, MA
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Essex County, MA
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Essex County, MA
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See how Saugus's property blight rules stack up against other locations.
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