Hamden, CT Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Section 154.30 declares that vacant and blighted real properties contribute to neighborhood decline and adversely affect the town's economic well-being, health, safety and welfare, which is why § 154.31 makes it every owner's duty to keep residential or commercial property from becoming blighted. Section 154.32 defines "vacant parcel" as a parcel of land with no structures on it, and "vacant" as a building, structure or land not legally occupied for 60 days or longer. A vacant lot or building crosses into blight under § 154.32(4) if it is vacant and attracts illegal activity documented by Police Department reports, or is left unsecured or unguarded against unauthorized entry, or otherwise falls into disrepair as documented by the Building Official or Director of Health.

The Town Planner or other Enforcement Officer the Mayor designates enforces the subchapter under § 154.33, and § 154.35(B) requires a certified-mail notice giving the owner ten calendar days to remediate before a citation follows. Section 154.36(B) fines an unoccupied blighted premises $250 per day, compared with $150 per day for an occupied one, rising to $1,000 per day for a third violation within 12 months. Unpaid fines become a lien enforceable like a tax lien under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 7-148aa, and under § 154.37 the town may itself remove or abate the blighted condition and bill the cost to the owner if the owner fails to act after notice.