Legal Question in Environmental Law in Massachusetts

Re: house condemnation

Once a Board of Health condemns a property declaring it to be unfit for human habitation - the Board of Health may issue an order requiring the termination of occupancy. This is a distinct issue from shutting off the water and electric. Water is usually a municipal service. Electricity may be municipal or from a private company like National Grid -depends on the municipality.

Before a city or town takes such steps a property owner should be entitled to notice under state laws and regulations other than GL ch 121 (the public health law).

As a practical matter, the municipal board of health does have very broad authority to condemn a property as a nuisance and could go to court to enforce its order.