SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1797        FILED ON: 1/18/2019

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 867

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Nick Collins

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act requiring property owners to bear the cost of relocation assistance.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1797        FILED ON: 1/18/2019

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 867

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

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An Act requiring property owners to bear the cost of relocation assistance.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1.  Chapter 79A of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 13, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, and inserting in place thereof the following section:- 

Section 13.  Enforcement of state sanitary code or state building code; displacement of persons; moving expenses; state financial assistance; reports.

Any public agency displacing one or more persons by issuing an order to vacate real property for the purpose of enforcing Article II of the state sanitary code, pursuant to section one hundred and twenty-seven B of chapter one hundred and eleven, or for purposes of enforcing the state building code, shall provide relocation assistance and a relocation payment to such person or persons for actual reasonable documented expenses in moving his personal property from the real property, unless such payment is otherwise provided. The provisions of this section shall apply only to real property which is not part of or constitutes the entirety of a project where relocation payments would otherwise be required.

All costs incurred by any public agency in the provision of relocation assistance and relocation payments authorized by this section shall be paid by the owner of the real property to the public agency upon presentation to the owner by the public agency of a statement of those relocation costs and of the date upon which the relocation costs are due and payable.  A claim for the expense incurred by the public agency shall constitute a debt due the city or town upon the rendering of account thereof.  In the event that the relocation costs to be paid the public agency are not paid within 10 days after the date due, the unpaid balance shall constitute a lien on the parcel.  The provisions of the second paragraph of section three A of chapter one hundred and thirty-nine relative to liens for such debt and the collection of the claims for such debt, shall apply to this debt, except that the board of health, or, in the cities of Boston, Worcester and Cambridge, the commissioner of housing inspection or building commissioner, shall act hereunder in place of the mayor and or board of selectmen.