AG's Office, Housing Partnership Team Up On Abandoned Homes
Dangerous abandoned homes across the state will be getting makeovers thanks to a new partnership between Attorney General Martha Coakley's office and the Massachusetts Housing Partnership.
Federal agencies have provided $635,000 for the plan, which will expand the Abandoned Housing Initiative within the attorney general's office.
The AHI, established in the mid-1990s, works with municipal inspectional staff to identify abandoned properties that pose threats to their neighborhoods. If the property owner can't be located, it can appoint a receiver to rehabilitate the property.
In the new partnership, MHP will join with the initiative to help communities appoint qualified temporary receivers for distressed properties. The group launched a pilot program in Worcester, Springfield and New Bedford in October 2008 to set up and fund receivership programs in partnership with other nonprofit groups.
The AHI expansion will include assigning three assistant attorneys general and a program coordinator to help municipalities across the state handle abandoned properties. The program will support 39 cities and towns that are already eligible for funding from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program.
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