Worcester, MA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Chapter 8, § 42, Nuisances on Property
- Correction window
- 24 hours or 10 days after notice
- First-offense fine
- $50, rising to $300 by 4th violation
- Enforcing officials
- Inspectional services, building, housing, health, fire chiefs
- City abatement
- City can remove nuisance, bill owner cost
- Exemption
- Does not apply to city or state property
Summary
Worcester's nuisance-on-property law, Chapter 8, § 42, targets dilapidated buildings, vacant or abandoned structures, and defective weather protection that blight neighborhoods. The commissioner of inspectional services, building commissioner, director of housing, health inspections director, or fire chief can declare a property a public nuisance and order repairs. Owners who ignore the order face escalating fines and city-ordered abatement billed back to them.
(a) Purpose and Intent. It is the purpose and intent of this section to eliminate nuisances in the city. Nuisances, such as dilapidated buildings, overgrowth, debris, trash, stagnant pools of water, property having defective weather protection and vacant or abandoned buildings, cause and contribute to blight within neighborhoods and commercial areas of the city and adversely affect the property values for adjacent and surrounding property. Such nuisances on property also impair the public health and safety. This ordinance is intended to further the objectives of and to act in concert with any existing state or local laws. ... (b) Property Standards. All property in the city of Worcester shall be maintained in the accordance with the following property standards: (1) General. All property, whether occupied or vacant, shall be maintained in good repair and a safe and sanitary condition as provided herein, so as to not cause or contribute to the creation of a hazardous or blighted area or to affect adversely the public health and safety or property value of adjacent or surrounding property.
Full Breakdown
" Subsection (b)(1) requires that all property, occupied or vacant, be maintained "in good repair and a safe and sanitary condition" so it does not create a hazardous or blighted area. Subsection (b)(3) separately requires structures, including buildings, fences and storage sheds, to stay structurally sound, weatherproofed, and free of extensive peeling or flaking paint, with siding kept weather-resistant and watertight. c. 111, § 124. c. 111, § 125 or a contract action. c. 40, § 21D, with each day of noncompliance a separate offense, and the health and human services commissioner, inspectional services commissioner, or fire chief may also seek a court injunction. The ordinance does not apply to city or Commonwealth-owned property.
Violations & Fines
Fines escalate with repeat violations: $50 for a first offense, $100 for a second, $200 for a third, and $300 for the fourth and every violation after that, with each day of an uncorrected nuisance treated as a separate offense. Beyond fines, the city can enter the property to abate the nuisance itself and bill the owner for the cost, or seek an injunction through the commissioner of health and human services, inspectional services, or the fire chief.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a blighted property nuisance in Worcester?
How much notice do I get before a fine?
What happens if I don't fix it myself?
Who decides a property is a nuisance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Worcester
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Property Blight in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle property blight.