Owners of vacant lots must keep them clean, safe, and free of overgrowth and dumping. The nuisance law reaches vacant parcels, and boards of health require weeds, trash, and standing water to be controlled.
MGL c.139 §1 expressly covers the owner of a vacant parcel of land, letting the city record a nuisance order after notice and a hearing. Essex County towns pair this with health regulations requiring vacant lots to be mowed, cleared of debris and junk, and drained of standing water that breeds mosquitoes. Owners who let a lot go to overgrowth or illegal dumping get cited and billed for municipal cleanup.
Overgrown grass, dumped debris, and standing water on a vacant lot draw health and nuisance citations, with the city clearing it and liening the owner.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Swampscott, MA
Swampscott restricts commercial vehicle parking in residential districts through its Zoning By-Law. Commercial vehicles and equipment owned by service contra...
Essex County, MA
Light trespass, a neighbor's glare spilling onto your property, is controlled by town outdoor-lighting bylaws across Essex County, not by state law. Fixtures...
Essex County, MA
Massachusetts has no statewide dark-sky law, so night-sky protection in Essex County comes from town outdoor-lighting bylaws. Rowley, Rockport, and other com...
Essex County, MA
Parks in Essex County close at night. State conservation land follows a dawn-to-dusk rule under 302 CMR 12.03, and each town sets matching hours for its own ...
Essex County, MA
Massachusetts has no statewide juvenile curfew, and Essex County has no county code. A few towns keep local nighttime curfews, but the state's high court lim...
Essex County, MA
Commercial drone work anywhere in Essex County runs under the FAA's Part 107 rule. Massachusetts adds no county permit; operators hold a Remote Pilot Certifi...
See how Swampscott's vacant lot maintenance rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.