An Act To Protect the Public from Dangerous Buildings
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1459
Committee: State and Local Government
Sponsors: LIBBY, SHEATS, DIAMOND, FREY, MOONEN
Amends: 17 MRSA §2851, 17 MRSA §2852, 17 MRSA §2853, 17 MRSA §2856, 17 MRSA §2857, 17 MRSA §2858, 17 MRSA §2859

Legislative Document
No. 1459
S.P. 505
In Senate, April 18, 2017
An Act To Protect the Public from Dangerous Buildings
Reference to the Committee on State and Local Government suggested and ordered printed.
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator LIBBY of Androscoggin.
Cosponsored by Representative SHEATS of Auburn and
Senator: DIAMOND of Cumberland, Representatives: FREY of Bangor, MOONEN of 
Portland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  17 MRSA §2851, as amended by PL 1997, c. 6, §1, is further amended to 
read: 
§2851.  Dangerous buildings 
Whenever the The municipal officers in the case of a municipality, or the county 
commissioners in the case of the unorganized or deorganized areas in their county, find 
that a building or structure or any portion thereof or any wharf, pier, pilings or any 
portion thereof that is or was located on or extending from land within the boundaries of 
the municipality or the unorganized or deorganized area, as measured from low water 
mark, is structurally unsafe; unstable; unsanitary; constitutes a fire hazard; is unsuitable 
or improper for the use or occupancy to which it is put; constitutes a hazard to health or 
safety because of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, obsolescence or abandonment; or 
is otherwise dangerous to life or property, they may after notice pursuant to section 2857 
and hearing on this matter adjudge the same a building to be a nuisance or dangerous, in 
accordance with subsection 2-A, and may make and record an order, in accordance with 
subsection 3, prescribing what disposal must be made of that building or structure.  The 
order may allow for delay of disposal if the owner or party in interest has demonstrated 
the ability and willingness to satisfactorily rehabilitate the building.  If an appeal pursuant 
to section 2852 is not filed or, if an appeal pursuant to section 2852 is filed and the 
Superior Court does not order, stay or overturn the order to dispose of the building, the 
municipal officers or the county commissioners shall cause the nuisance to be abated or 
removed in compliance with the order. 
For the purposes of this subchapter, "building" means a building or structure or any 
portion of a building or structure or any wharf, pier, pilings or any portion of a wharf, pier 
or pilings thereof that is or was located on or extending from land within the boundaries 
of the municipality or the unorganized or deorganized area, as measured from low water 
mark, and "parties in interest" has the same meaning as in Title 14, section 6321. 
1.  Notice.  The notice must be served on the owner and all parties in interest, as 
defined in Title 14, section 6321, in the same way service of process is made in 
accordance with the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure. 
2.  Notice; how published.  When the name or address of any owner or co-owner is 
unknown or is not ascertainable with reasonable diligence, then the notice must be 
published once a week for 3 successive weeks prior to the date of hearing in a newspaper 
generally circulated in the county, or if none, in the state paper. 
2-A.  Standard.  To adjudge a building to be a nuisance or dangerous, the municipal 
officers or county commissioners must find that the building is structurally unsafe, 
unstable or unsanitary; constitutes a fire hazard; is unsuitable or improper for the use or 
occupancy to which it is put; constitutes a hazard to health or safety because of 
inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, obsolescence or abandonment; or is otherwise 
dangerous to life or property. 
3.  Recording of the order.  The An order made by the municipal officers or county 
commissioners under this section must be recorded by the municipal or county clerk, who 
shall cause an attested copy to be served upon the owner and all parties in interest in the 
same way service of process is made in accordance with the Maine Rules of Civil 
Procedure.  If the name or address cannot be ascertained, the clerk shall publish a copy of 
the order in the same manner as provided for notice in subsection 2 section 2857. 
4.  Proceedings in Superior Court.  In addition to proceedings before the municipal 
officers or the county commissioners, the municipality or the county may seek an order of 
demolition by filing a complaint in the Superior Court situated in the county where the 
structure building is located.  The complaint must identify the location of the property 
and set forth the reasons why the municipality or the county seeks its removal.  Service of 
the complaint must be made upon the owner and parties-in-interest parties in interest in 
accordance with the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure.  After hearing before the court 
sitting without a jury, the court shall issue an appropriate order and, if it requires removal 
of the structure building, it shall award costs as authorized by this subchapter to the 
municipality or the county.  Appeal from a decision of the Superior Court is to the law 
court in accordance with the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure. 
Sec. 2.  17 MRSA §2852, as amended by PL 1997, c. 6, §2, is further amended to 
read: 
§2852.  Appeal; hearing 
An appeal from a decision of the municipal officers or county commissioners under 
section 2851 must be to the Superior Court, pursuant to the provisions of the Maine Rules 
of Civil Procedure, Rule 80B. 
Sec. 3.  17 MRSA §2853, as amended by PL 1979, c. 27, §5, is further amended to 
read: 
§2853.  Recovery of expenses 
If no appeal is filed, the municipal officers of such municipality shall cause said 
nuisance to be abated or removed in compliance with their order, and all All expenses 
thereof shall incurred by a municipality or county related to an order issued under section 
2851, including, but not limited to, expenses relating to the abatement or removal of a 
building, must be repaid to the municipality or county by the owner or co-owner party in 
interest within 30 days after demand, or a special tax may be assessed by the assessors 
against the land on which said the building was located for the amount of such the 
expenses and such that amount shall must be included in the next annual warrant to the 
tax collector of said town the municipality or county for collection, and shall must be 
collected in the same manner as other state, county and municipal taxes are collected. 
In the case of any claim for expenses incurred in the abatement or removal of any 
wharf, pier, pilings or any portion thereof which that extends beyond the low water mark, 
the special tax authorized by this section shall must apply to the land from which such the 
wharf, pier or pilings extended or to which they were adjacent, provided if the owner of 
the land is also the owner of the said wharf, pier, pilings or portion thereof. 
Expenses shall include, but not by way of limitation are not limited to, the costs of 
title searches, location reports, service or process, reasonable attorney's fees, costs of 
removal of the structure building, any costs incurred in securing the structure, building 
pending its removal, and all other costs incurred by the municipality which or county that 
are reasonably related to the removal of the structure building. In addition to levying a 
special tax, the municipality or county may recover its expenses, including its reasonable 
attorney's fees, by means of a civil action brought against the owner. 
Sec. 4.  17 MRSA §2856, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 27, §6, is amended to read: 
§2856.  Securing dangerous buildings 
In addition to other proceedings authorized by this subchapter, a municipality shall 
have has the right to secure structures which buildings that pose a serious threat to the 
public health and safety and to recover its expenses in so doing as provided in this 
subchapter section 2853. If a building is secured under this section, notice, in accordance 
with section 2851, subsection 1, shall 2857 must be given. This notice need not be given 
before securing the structure building if the threat to the public health and safety requires 
prompt action. 
Sec. 5.  17 MRSA §2857, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 27, §6, is amended to read: 
§2857.  Notice; recording 
Notice required under section 2851 or section 2856 must be served on the owner and 
parties in interest in the same way service of process is made in accordance with the 
Maine Rules of Civil Procedure. When the name or address of an owner or party in 
interest is unknown or is not ascertainable with reasonable diligence, the notice must be 
published once a week for 3 successive weeks prior to the date of hearing in a newspaper 
generally circulated in the county, or if none, in the state paper. 
The municipal or county clerk shall cause an attested copy of the notice to be 
recorded in the Registry of Deeds located within the county where the structure building 
is situated. Recording of this notice shall be deemed to put puts any person claiming 
under the owner of a structure building subject to proceedings under this subchapter on 
notice of the pendency of the proceedings. 
Sec. 6.  17 MRSA §2858, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 27, §6, is amended to read: 
§2858.  Consent to removal 
The owner and parties-in-interest or a party in interest of a dangerous structure 
building may consent to its removal and to the recovery of the expenses incurred by a 
municipality or county by means of a special tax as set forth in this subchapter. Notices of 
the consent shall must be recorded in the Registry of Deeds located in the county where 
the structure building is situated. 
Sec. 7.  17 MRSA §2859, sub-§1, as corrected by RR 2007, c. 2, §5, is amended 
to read: 
1.  Commencement of action.  A municipality, acting through its building official, 
code enforcement officer, fire chief or municipal officers, shall file a verified complaint 
setting forth such facts as would justify a conclusion that a building or structure is 
"dangerous," as that term is defined described in section 2851;, and shall state in the 
complaint that the public health, safety or welfare requires the immediate removal of that 
building or structure. 
Sec. 8.  17 MRSA §2859, sub-§2, ¶A, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 43, is amended 
to read: 
A.  Requiring the owner and all parties-in-interest, as that term is defined in the 
statutes governing foreclosure by civil action, parties in interest to appear and show 
cause why the building or structure should not be ordered demolished; 
Sec. 9.  17 MRSA §2859, sub-§§4 and 5, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 43, are 
amended to read: 
4.  Hearing.  After hearing, the court shall enter judgment. If the judgment requires 
removal of the building or structure, the court shall award costs to the municipality as 
authorized by this subchapter. The award of costs may be contested and damages sought 
in a separate action to the extent permitted by subsection 7. 
5.  Appeal.  No A judgment requiring demolition issued pursuant to this section may 
not be appealed. The owner of a building or structure which that is the subject of an order 
issued under this section, or a party-in-interest, party in interest may appeal the award of 
costs, if any, or seek damages for wrongful removal pursuant to subsection 7. 
Sec. 10.  17 MRSA §2859, sub-§7, as amended by PL 1995, c. 450, §6, is further 
amended to read: 
7.  Damages.  Any complaint that either seeks damages for the wrongful removal of a 
building or structure or challenges the award of costs must be filed no later than 30 days 
from the date of the judgment or order that is the subject of the appeal.  The damages that 
may be awarded for wrongful demolition are limited to the actual value of the structure 
building at the time of its removal.  The provisions of Title 14, section 7552 do not apply.  
If the municipality should prevail prevails, the court may award it its costs in defending 
any appeal, which may include, but are not limited to, reasonable attorney's fees. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends the law governing dangerous buildings to provide an option under 
which the municipal officers or county commissioners may delay the disposal of a 
dangerous building if the owner or party in interest has demonstrated ability and 
willingness to satisfactorily rehabilitate the building. The bill clarifies the language in 
current law regarding recovery of expenses related to an order prescribing disposal of a 
dangerous building.  The bill also makes several changes to clarify terminology and 
cross-references.