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A Health and Safety Receivership is a legal remedy to combat neighborhood blight and transform problematic properties back into safe and habitable structures. A house or building within a community may be deteriorating due to various reasons ranging from severe hoarding, contaminated or unsafe living environments, or owner abandonment. Deteriorating properties are usually produced because no responsible party is willing or able to address the problems on the property. Whether due to an uncooperative property owner, quarreling heirs, disputes regarding title, or an owner that cannot be located, the structure or dwelling is poorly maintained making it an eyesore and hazard to the community. When a property is in severe disrepair and a danger to its tenants or neighboring residents, the property will affect the entire neighborhood.

Health and Safety Receiverships come in many shapes and sizes. Health and Safety Receiverships are implemented for distressed properties which include packrat/hoarding properties, substandard motels or apartments, fire damaged properties, illegal construction or habitation, drug/slum houses, and deceased owner or abandoned properties. Properties subject to Health and Safety Receiverships are often referred to the City by local fire departments or law enforcement who are routinely called to these properties.  A Health and Safety Receiver can be appointed by the Court to remedy health and safety hazards of substandard properties which have been neglected by property owners. A Court-Appointed Health and Safety Receiver will determine the proper course of action on a case by case (property by property) basis and will follow established policies, procedures and guidelines for each specific property or situation. A Receiver is responsible for general repairs and maintenance for the property and for ensuring that the property is brought into compliance with State and local laws.

Substandard motels are present in cities across California. We’ve all stayed in a motel where we wished we had read the Yelp reviews first, right? Usually property owners of these substandard commercial properties neglect the basic maintenance needs of the property to save money causing the property to fall into severe disrepair. In these situations, a Court-Appointed Health and Safety Receiver can provide the solution to protect the community and occupants from such dangerous conditions. A Receiver can be appointed by the court to rehabilitate and preserve substandard commercial properties.

Hoarding is a serious clinical disorder where an individual has obstinate difficulty discarding or parting with belongings. A person with a hoarding disorder experiences distress at the idea of getting rid of their possessions because they have an inherent need to save them. This mentality results in excessive accrual of belongings regardless of actual value. Hoarding behaviors can produce an unsafe environment posing a health and safety risk to the people living in the home.  A Court-Appointed Health & Safety Receiver can remedy the effects of extreme hoarding at residential properties. The court can appoint a neutral third-party receiver to take control of the property to remedy the challenging hoarding conditions.

A Rents and Profits Receivership assists in the enforcement of a mortgage, deed of trust, or related assignment. A rents and profits receivership commonly occurs when a property owner defaults on a mortgage and the lender seeks the appointment of a receiver to protect the collateral while foreclosure commences. Deeds of trust typically provide for the appointment of a receiver and contain an assignment of rents provision to collect rents and preserve the property. A court-appointed receiver has the right to take control over and possess all collateral property subject to the deed or mortgage as directed by the court. A receiver is appointed by the court to collect and secure rents and to preserve and protect the property during a foreclosure.