Health & Safety Receiverships are an effective tool to restore vacant properties. There are many vacant residential and industrial properties across California that are half-built or abandoned with no useful purpose. These vacant properties are not only an eyesore for the surrounding community but also pose a threat to the health, safety and welfare of the neighborhood. The existence of a vacant property boosts crime and vandalism, contributes to neighborhood decline, negatively affects surrounding property values, creates a public nuisance and requires costly code and police enforcement. A vacant residential property may become a haven for criminal conduct and a vacant industrial site may become an illicit dump. When a vacant property is left unsecured, resourceful trespassers can easily take over the property which can lead to an increase in fires and crime. Vermin also make their home in the vacant space and spread throughout the neighborhood. A court-appointed Receiver can be a remedy for these vacant properties.
Receivership is a legal remedy that can preserve and restore vacant properties. A court-appointed Receiver rehabilitates vacant properties back into productive use and remedies any code violations that led to the receivership. A Receiver is granted temporary control over the vacant property to secure, stabilize and repair the property to prevent further deterioration. A Receiver is responsible for maintenance on the property, including eradicating garbage, debris, graffiti, overgrown weeds and grass, and exterminating vermin. A Receiver will secure the interior and exterior of the vacant property by boarding windows and doors, and when necessary installing fencing or hiring security to keep intruders out and making the property inaccessible to the public. Securing vacant properties can eliminate dangers, reduce the adverse impact created by abandoned properties, and can motivate safer and sustainable neighborhoods. Receiverships can offer opportunities for success with newly rehabilitated properties serving a useful purpose and can promote healthy and vibrant neighborhoods.
A Health & Safety Receiver can provide the solution to problems produced by vacant properties. Richardson “Red” Griswold is appointed by courts to act as a Health & Safety Code Receiver for vacant properties across California. For more information, please contact Griswold Law at (858) 481-1300 or rgriswold@griswoldlawsandiego.com.
