A receivership is the appointment of a person or organization by a court to temporarily manage a property in order to enforce the state Sanitary Code and respond to an irresponsible or absentee landlord. Tenants can use receivership as a strategy to accomplish needed repairs and prevent a building from deteriorating. Tenants get a receiver by asking a court to appoint one.2 If a court appoints a receiver, the receiver usually is empowered by a court to:
- Make repairs and improve the conditions;
- Manage the building;
- Collect the rents;
- Pay expenses, including taxes and insurance
Additional duties of a receiver vary depending upon what tenants request and what a judge eventually puts in a written receivership order.
Endnotes
2 . G.L. c. 111, §127B through O sets forth the relevant provisions regarding receivership. See also Mass. R. Civ. P. Rule 66.
Produced by Susan Hegel Created July 2008
