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Blighted buildings, abandoned homes, and poorly maintained lots don’t just hurt property values—they quietly fuel crime. Chronic nuisance properties strain emergency services, attract illegal activity, and erode public trust. Yet their true impact is often missing from crime reports. It's time to connect the dots—and explore how tools like the health and safety receivership remedy can break the cycle.

It’s a common theme to see properties stuck in probate, owned by unreachable heirs, or occupied by vulnerable individuals. These properties can end up spiraling into disrepair, becoming a drain on city resources and a threat to surrounding neighborhoods. Cities can respond proactively by leveraging court-appointed receiverships, which place control in the hands of neutral professionals empowered to stabilize and restore these properties.

Nuisance and dilapidated properties often place a significant burden on public safety agencies. Fire departments responding to incidents at vacant or unsafe structures can incur thousands of dollars per call, depending on the severity and resources required. These costs cover personnel time, apparatus use, equipment wear, and liability risk. Repeated calls due to fires, squatting, overdoses, or hazardous conditions can result in annual emergency response costs of thousands of dollars in high-impact areas, overwhelming city resources that could be directed toward other areas. The receivership remedy offers cities a structured way to intervene before these costs spiral further. By appointing a receiver to handle the work under court supervision, abatement costs come out of the property’s equity rather than burdening the city’s resources or taxpayers.

Guest author Pete Roque of 4 Leaf Inc explains how different communities structure their code enforcement team into different divisions. Code enforcement is a great way to ensure that your community is not overtaken (or ruined) by unsightly buildings, houses, activities, or businesses.

Receivership is a court-ordered remedy that puts a disputed asset—be it real property or a troubled business—under the control of a third-party neutral receiver. When applied strategically, the receivership remedy can be very effective. Our team has been able to solve a wide range of complex cases that required creativity, compliance, and community-minded leadership.

Recent data from ATTOM's April 2025 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report highlights significant property foreclosure increases in several states, emphasizing the need for proactive measures to address the resulting public health and safety concerns.

Some of the most effective interventions for unsafe, deteriorating properties begin with a legal mechanism designed to protect public health. The health and safety receivership remedy is a powerful tool for addressing substandard properties that pose serious risks to public welfare. But successful receivership outcomes often depend on more than legal authority—they require compassionate collaboration with homeowners or tenants who may be struggling with complex challenges.

Health and Safety Receiverships are a remedy for distressed properties, which are known as a public nuisance under the law. In a receivership, a receiver is appointed by the court to revitalize nuisance properties after a lawsuit has been filed against the property owner. In these situations under public nuisance law, the receiver will often work with local law enforcement and fire departments until the situation is resolved.