WHO CAN SUE?
A self-help nuisance suit can be brought by:

• neighboring private property owners, or
• neighboring tenants residing in private property, or
• neighboring churches, or
• neighboring businesses

WHO CAN BE SUED?
The law allows a suit against the:

• OWNER of the property and anyone creating the nuisance

WHAT DOES THE LAW ALLOW US TO DO?

• As long as the plaintiffs provide adequate notice, behave reasonably and don't disturb the peace, they have the right to deal with the nuisance wherever it is located and then sue the owner for what it cost.
• The court has the power to order the owner to repay the plaintiff for expenses incurred in remedying the nuisance.

HOW CAN THE NEIGHBORS(PLAINTIFFS) REMEDY THE NUISANCE?

• Clean up the back yard and other areas around the property
• Get the property boarded
• Turn off the water
• Employ any other reasonable means that cause no unnecessary damage to the property

WHAT ARE THE STEPS INVOLVED?

• Community identifies nuisance properties
• Gather evidence (who owns the property, has it been raided by the police, what is the nuisance, etc.)
• Give the owner notice and request that (s)he abate the nuisance
• After a reasonable amount of time, abate the nuisance

HOW ARE COMMUNITIES USING THIS ANCIENT LAW?

    Members of the Butcher's Hill Community established that they have the right to board the property themselves and to recover what it cost them from the owner of the property. The problem which this community faced is common in many Baltimore neighborhoods. A vacant and abandoned house had become a base of operations for drug users and drug dealers. It acted as a magnet for criminal activity, drawing a steady stream of drug dealers and users to the block from a wide radius.

    The Butcher's Hill residents, after notifying the owner of the vacant drug house that community residents would board the property if he did not, boarded the property using construction techniques specifically developed to keep the building secure from the drug crowd. "We blocked the basement entrance, and boarded all the doors and windows with plywood anchored to a frame of 2 x 4's," explained a community resident. "We also cleaned the backyard and sealed the door to the backyard. This kept the property secure for months and helped get rid of most of the drug dealing from the corners."

    The community residents then took the owner to court to recover their costs in labor and materials, $340.15. The District Court awarded these costs to the community residents who had boarded the property. They now plan to use this tool to deal with other vacant drug houses in their neighborhood. "We know now that we don't have to sit by and plead with someone else to keep the property secure," said one community resident. "We can do it ourselves, and we plan to do so."

    As of the end of 1995, the Law Center represented communities in 119 self-help nuisance abatement cases.