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The Health & Safety Receivership remedy is available to communities in California that have a goal of eliminating substandard, abandoned, and nuisance properties. More specifically, this receivership solution is utilized when these properties pose a health and safety risk to individuals in the community, or perhaps even the community at large.

Distressed properties can be dangerous and unhealthy for multiple parties: the occupant, the owner, and the whole community.

Imagine this — three siblings have recently inherited their childhood home. It’s a massive asset, and they want to make sure they honor their parents’ wishes and use the value of the home for the betterment of themselves and their families.

Recent reports say that approximately 25% of hotels cannot pay their mortgages and are at risk of foreclosure. One example is the famed Roosevelt Hotel, which survived a world war and the Great Depression during its nearly 100-year history in Midtown Manhattan, but the COVID-19 pandemic has been too much for it to weather.

Here on the Griswold Law Blog, we use the terms “Health & Safety Code Receiver” and “Real Property Receiver” quite a bit in our articles about the different types of situations where a court-appointed receiver can provide a remedy for problematic structures (i.e. abandoned properties or slumlord-owned properties). However, receivers can be appointed by the Court to rehab non-residential properties as well. Two example scenarios are explained below:

The Online Etymology Dictionary reports that the word “slumlord” came into popular use in 1953, but it derived as a portmanteau of “slum landlord,” which had been used as early as 1893. Needless to say, slumlords’ neglect is not a new problem.

The National Vacant Properties Campaign held its annual conference in Cleveland, Ohio last week. There to explain the positive impact that receiverships can have on vacant/abandoned properties in cities across the nation was Mark Adams of the California Receivership Group. Mr. Adams is a friend and mentor of mine.

As foreclosures continue flowing and banks lose additional control of their REO portfolios, more and more vacant properties in substandard condition will turn up in neighborhoods within San Diego County and the nation at large. Cities within San Diego County have taken promising steps over the years to beef up code enforcement strategies and neighborhood improvement initiatives, particularly in the City of Chula Vista and the City of San Diego. Attempts to stave off vacant/substandard/nuisance properties, coupled with an aggressive penalties system, can solve half the problem. However, once the property has been identified as a "nuisance" and the fines/penalties/charges have been issued, what next? Who ensures the property will be cleaned up and brought within compliance with the applicable code? The answer: court-appointed receivership.