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Health and Safety Receiverships can successfully rehabilitate distressed properties within a community. A receivership is a legal and equitable remedy that allows for the possession and control of property by an unbiased third party referred to as a Court Appointed Receiver. A Court Appointed Receiver is a neutral third party appointed by the Court to take temporary control over substandard properties that are subject to a lawsuit. A receiver is not an advocate for any party but instead is an advocate for the court to protect and preserve the property. Once the court appoints a receiver, the property is under the direct control of the court through the receiver. A receiver’s authority is derived directly from the appointing court. The receiver is responsible for the general repairs and maintenance to the property and for ensuring that the property is brought into compliance with State and local codes.

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.

Health and Safety Receiverships are utilized for a wide arrange of distressed properties, including fire damaged properties. Fires may ignite outside or inside a property for a number of different reasons. Natural wildfires, electrical hazards, smoking and candles, just to name a few. Sometimes the conditions on the property are already so severe (i.e. hoarding, ill-maintained structures, faulty wiring) that the conditions themselves cause a fire. Other times, a perfectly suited property becomes badly damaged by the flames, heat, smoke and water after a fire. Fire damage causes properties to become structurally unsound and compromised and at a risk of collapsing, making it dangerous for anyone to be onsite. Firefighters may have cut holes in walls looking for hidden flames or may have cut holes in the roof to release heat and smoke. Fires often re-ignite even after appearing to be extinguished. Hazardous materials and structural damage pose serious threats to the health and safety of the occupants and surrounding community.

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.

The California Partition Remedy addresses disputes between co-owners of a property. A partition action is utilized when co-owners cannot decide how to handle jointly-owned property. When a property is jointly owned by two or more parties, all owners have a right to the partition remedy to divide their interest in the property. Co-owners may be family members, friends, unmarried or divorced couples, or business partners. Usually co-owners buy or inherit property on good terms with the same objective in mind, but over time their interests diverge, and they develop conflicting ideas about how to use, manage, improve, or dispose of the property. Properties subject to partition include, but are not limited to, single-family residences, vacation homes, investment properties, commercial buildings, apartment buildings, and parcels of land.

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.