When it comes to abating fire hazards, health and safety receivers are an essential resource within the state. The motivating force in all health and safety receiverships is to address substantial health and safety risks that affect property owners, tenants, and their surrounding communities. This includes fire hazard abatement.
To understand why fire hazard abatement is necessary in California, we first have to answer this question: Why are fires such a huge risk in California? Unfortunately, our state has a perfect combination of contributing factors.
Under Health & Safety Code section 17980, et seq., a receiver can be appointed to remediate fire damage, and they can prevent fires by identifying and eliminating risk factors on properties that lack adequate standards.
A major responsibility of a health and safety receiver is to secure abandoned and nuisance properties from further damage, and that includes addressing the risk of fire. Abandoned properties present many threats. Fortunately, if an abandoned property goes into receivership, the receiver can reduce the risk of fire by taking several simple but effective steps.
The receiver can:
Upon appointment, a receiver consults with contractors and inspectors to determine if a property has the potential to be rehabilitated or if it should be demolished.
To address fire damage, receivers may:
By the time a receiver is involved in abating a fire-damaged property, or intercedes to abate hazards that could cause a fire, City or County officials have most likely exhausted their remedies to attempt to get a property into compliance.
Once appointed, the receiver will have already considered the known hazards listed in the petition to appoint and will consult with inspectors and contractors to develop a comprehensive plan to either abate the problem or demolish the structure entirely. The receiver will submit a final plan to a judge, who will approve or modify the plan. If the receiver moves forward with rehabilitation, a number of steps are taken.
Attending to the property’s defensible space - which includes home hardening, weed abatement, and removal of junk and debris - is a common area of focus when abating a hazardous property. Defensible space is the amount of space that should be left between plants and other structures to prevent the spread of fire. Weed abatement removes combustible growth and material on or around the property, in addition to any junk or debris that prevents ingress or egress.
Once all hazards have been identified and removed, it’s important that the property is monitored on a consistent basis to ensure it remains safe and free of risk factors until the receiver is discharged by the Court.
Once City or County officials decide that receivership is appropriate, the property has likely fallen into such a state of disrepair that the only way to enforce compliance is to get the courts involved. Typically, the costs associated with receivership are covered by the subject property’s equity. Taxpayers should never be held accountable for a property in disrepair, so the idea is the property pays its own costs.
In cases where property owners have passed away or are deemed incapacitated, the receiver considers many factors including next of kin or family members willing to step in and help. Finally, when necessary, the receiver will abate and sell, or sell as-is to a buyer who is willing to step in and do the work under the receiver’s supervision until discharge, and the proceeds of the sale will be distributed accordingly.
The judge overseeing the case will make a determination for the most appropriate course of action based on the receiver’s recommendation, which varies on a case-by-case basis.
The duration of the receivership depends on the condition of the property upon appointment and the amount of work needed. The goal is to work as effectively and as expeditiously as possible, and that can last anywhere from a few months to a few years in extreme cases.
As a neutral third party appointed by the courts, a health and safety receiver assumes control of a property immediately upon appointment, working to mitigate risks that pose significant health or safety risks to inhabitants.
During receivership, the receiver has the authority to make decisions about the property, hire contractors and inspectors, handle rents and income from the property, and even demolish buildings and sell the vacant land, in some cases. All of this is done with approval from the judge overseeing the case.
If the court-appointed receiver determines that a property is unsafe, either to the tenants or the community at large, they can take all reasonable steps to address those safety concerns.
This may include:
Richardson “Red” Griswold has been appointed as a receiver in hundreds of cases in California, including for properties where there is a significant fire risk. Check out Griswold Law’s video about the Mayan Hotel in El Centro, where Red and the team remediated the fire damage at a downtown hotel.
Do you have questions about how a receiver can address the issues at a property in your community? Whether you own a distressed property or you represent clients who need the courts to appoint a receiver, we can answer your questions.
Contact Griswold Law today to ask your questions and get the answers you need.