Me. Rev. Stat. » Title 17
Maine Revised Statutes

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 17, § 2851 (2026)

Dangerous buildings

✓ current as of May 2026
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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 may after notice pursuant to section 2857 and hearing adjudge 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. 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. After recording an attested copy of the notice required by section 2857 in the registry of deeds located within the county where the building is situated, the municipality or the county may seek a writ of attachment of the property on which the building is located in accordance with Title 14, chapter 507 and the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure.   [PL 2019, c. 557, §1 (AMD).]
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.   [PL 2017, c. 136, §1 (NEW).]
1.  Notice. 
[PL 2017, c. 136, §1 (RP).]
2.  Notice; how published. 
[PL 2017, c. 136, §1 (RP).]
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.  
[PL 2017, c. 136, §1 (NEW).]
3.  Recording of the order.  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 section 2857.  
[PL 2017, c. 136, §1 (AMD).]
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 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 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 building, it shall award costs as authorized by this subchapter to the municipality or the county. The municipality or the county may petition the court for a writ of attachment of the property on which the building is located in accordance with Title 14, chapter 507 and the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure. Appeal from a decision of the Superior Court is to the law court in accordance with the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure.  
[PL 2019, c. 557, §2 (AMD).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 1965, c. 284 (RPR). PL 1967, c. 401, §1 (AMD). PL 1973, c. 143, §1 (AMD). PL 1979, c. 27, §§1-3 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 6, §1 (AMD). PL 2017, c. 136, §1 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 557, §§1, 2 (AMD).
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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 14 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 1979–2026 · leading case: Hollie A. Beal v. Town of Stockton Springs, 2017 ME 6 (Me. 2017).
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Hollie A. Beal v. Town of Stockton Springs, 2017 ME 6 (Me. 2017). · cites it 3× “) affirming a decision by the Town of Stockton Springs’s Board of Selectman (the Board) determining that a structure owned by Beal was a dangerous building or nuisance pursuant to 17 M.R.S. § 2851 (2016). Beal contends that (i) the Board violated her due process rights when the…”
Kirkpatrick v. City of Bangor, 728 A.2d 1268 (Me. 1999). · cites it 5× “), pursuant to 17 M.R.S.A. § 2851 (Supp.1998), vacating the order of the City Council to demolish, within 30 days, a building owned by Leon and Gertrude Kirkpatrick that had been declared a danger and a nuisance.”
Town of Kittery v. James M. Dineen, 2017 ME 53 (Me. 2017). · cites it 6× “Second, Dineen challenges the court’s affirmance of the Kittery Town Council’s finding that the Mary’s Store structure constitutes a dangerous building pursuant to 17 M.R.S. § 2851 (2016), and ordering that it be demolished.”
Lerman v. Inhabitants of City of Portland, 406 A.2d 903 (Me. 1979). · cites it 2× “Acting pursuant to 17 M.R.S.A. § 2851, 1 the defendant ordered the demolition of a certain building in Portland of which the plaintiff was a part owner.”
Kirkpatrick v. City of Bangor, 517 A.2d 320 (Me. 1986). “On August 26, 1985, the Bangor City Council, acting pursuant to 17 M.R.S.A. § 2851 (1983), condemned as a “dangerous building” a structure in that city owned by plaintiffs Leon and Gertrude Kirkpatrick.”
Jurkenas v. City of Brewer (D. Me. 2020). · cites it 5× “See 17 M.R.S. § 2851. (Id.) The notice described the actions necessary to correct the alleged violations and stated that Plaintiffs had a right to appeal the notice within thirty days pursuant to the City’s land use code.”
Smith v. Inh. of the town of Monmouth (Me. Super. Ct 2008). · cites it 4× “On March 21, 2007 a Town of Monmouth Special Selectmen's meeting was held in which, with respect to the Smiths, discussion of many issues (e.g. animal welfare, plumbing, late night swearing, and whistling at women) took place.”
Jurkenas v. City of Brewer (D. Me. 2021). · cites it 2× “) The City Council considered action under Maine law (17 M.R.S. § 2851 et seq.) and on September 16, 2014, issued an order that set a public hearing for October 14, 2014, to determine if the City should dispose of the building because it was dangerous.”
McIntyre v. Town of Clinton (Me. Super. Ct 2018). · cites it 2× “Title 17 M.R.S. §2851 sets forth the procedure for the municipal officers of a town to conduct a hearing and "adjudge a building to be a nuisance or dangerous.”
Carey v. Town of Rumford (Me. Super. Ct 2021). · cites it 2× “) In an order dated June 3rd, 2021, the Board, pursuant to 17 M.R.S. § 2851, ordered Carey "to abate the dangerous condition and nuisance by demo[lishing] the building" and to "dispos[ e] of the demolition materials properly within 30 days of the service of this order.”
City of Brewer v. Conners (Me. Super. Ct 2004). · cites it 2× “See 17 M.R.S.A. § 2851 et seg. The City also seeks an award of its costs and attorneys fees.”
Pelkey v. City of Presque Isle (Me. Super. Ct 2020). “) On June 3, 2020, the City Council conducted a hearing pursuant to 17 MR.S. § 2851 and determined that the property was a dangerous building as defined by 17 M.”
Show all 14 citing cases →
— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 17, § 2851(3) — 1 case
McIntyre v. Town of Clinton (Me. Super. Ct 2018). “Title 17 M.R.S. §2851 sets forth the procedure for the municipal officers of a town to conduct a hearing and "adjudge a building to be a nuisance or dangerous.”
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