[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Lowell as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Building construction — See Ch. 115.
Electrical standards — See Ch. 140.
Fire prevention — See Ch. 155.
Health and sanitation — See Ch. 171.
Property maintenance — See Ch. 227.
Waste and recycling — See Ch. 176.
Water and sewers — See Ch. 272.
[Adopted 4-26-1988 as Ch. 10, Art. I of the 1988 Code; amended in its entirety 10-9-2012]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
OWNER'S AGENT
Any person, entity, agency, firm, or corporation authorized to represent the owner in matters pertaining to the management, rental, collection of rents, or maintenance of the rental unit.
RENTAL UNIT
As established by Massachusetts Sanitary Code (105 CMR 410) and the Lowell Zoning Code, any legal dwelling, housing, rooming, or tenement unit provided, rented or operated for compensation, and allowing occupancy by one or more persons for 30 or more consecutive days. Rental units shall not include dormitories, owner-occupied two-family units, health-care facilities, or units designated specifically for the care of the sick, aged, disabled or convalescent.
VIOLATION NOTICE
A written notice of violation or violation ticket issued by a code enforcement inspector from the Division of Development Services or Lowell Fire Department indicating one or more violations of Massachusetts Sanitary Code, Building Code, Fire Code or local ordinances.
[Amended 9-22-2020; 11-18-2025]
A. 
No person, firm, agency, or corporation shall rent, operate, or provide residential occupancy, for 30 consecutive days or more, with compensation, any dwelling, tenement, housing, or rooming unit without a valid rental unit permit issued by the city.
B. 
A rental unit permit shall be issued upon application, payment of the required fee as set forth in Chapter 150, proof of fair housing compliance, and the satisfactory result of an inspection by a City code enforcement inspector to determine that the unit's and the building's common areas conform to Massachusetts General Laws, Massachusetts Sanitary Code (105 CMR 410), this article and other applicable state and local laws and regulations.
C. 
Rental unit permits are required for all rental units in a building. In buildings containing six or more rental units, the rental unit permits may be issued for all of the building's rental units following an inspection of a sample of units consisting of no less than 10% or three of the rental units contained within the building, whichever is greater. The sample of units shall be selected by the code enforcement inspector.
D. 
An inspection will not be required for rental units where an annual inspection is conducted in conjunction with funding or rental vouchers from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), provided the owner or owner's agent submits a copy of the satisfactory HUD inspection report, which must have occurred within the 12 months preceding the rental unit permit application.
E. 
Anyone seeking a rental unit permit shall be provided with information regarding applicable federal, state, and local fair housing laws and regulations and shall submit with his permit application a sworn statement attesting to his having received and reviewed this documentation and affirming fair housing compliance.
F. 
Anyone seeking a rental permit must provide a designated person-in-charge for each property containing a rental unit. The name and contact information, including a phone number and email address, must be provided with the rental permit application. In addition, the name and contact information of the person-in-charge shall be posted at the property on a printed placard adjacent to the main entrance to the building. In the event that a property has multiple buildings, the information above shall be posted at the main entrance to each building. The printed placard shall be entitled "Property Manager" and shall be printed in a minimum 48 pt. font. The placard shall be easily visible from the main entrance. Any changes to the person-in-charge or his/her contact information shall be submitted to the City within seven days of the change.
G. 
The rental unit permit shall expire on the last day of the month, three years from issuance. Nothing in this article shall prohibit an owner or owner's agent for seeking rental unit permits more frequently, provided the requirements for the permit, including a complete application, satisfactory inspection, and payment of the permit fee, are met.
H. 
If a rental unit or the common areas of the building the rental unit is located in has, within the three years of the valid permit period, generated three or more violation notices of the Sanitary Code, Building Code, Fire Code or local ordinances, excluding violations of Chapter 270, Waste and Recycling, or combination thereof, or one or more life safety violation notices, the rental unit permit shall be revoked, and notice will be sent to the owner or owner's agent indicating the permit's revoked status and providing a deadline of 30 days to vacate the unit or obtain a new valid rental unit permit. Subsequent rental unit permits will be issued following a satisfactory inspection by a City code enforcement inspector and will be valid for one year only, until the rental unit and/or building common areas have had three consecutive years without generating three or more violation notices, excluding violations of Chapter 270, Waste and Recycling, or one or more life safety violation notices. Violations of life safety are determined by the code enforcement inspector in accordance with the Massachusetts Building Code, Sanitary Code and/or Fire Code.
I. 
For rental units with HUD funding or vouchers, if the rental unit or the common areas of the building the rental unit is located in has, within the three years of the valid permit period, generated three or more notices of violation of the Sanitary Code, Building Code, Fire Code or local ordinances, excluding violations of Chapter 270, Waste and Recycling, or combination thereof, or one or more life safety notices of violation, the rental unit permit shall be revoked, and notification shall be provided to the owner or owner's agent, with copy to HUD, indicating the permit's revoked status and providing 30 days to vacate the unit or obtain a new valid rental unit permit. Subsequent rental unit permits will be issued following a satisfactory inspection by a City code enforcement inspector and will be valid for one year only, until the rental unit and/or building common areas have had three consecutive years without generating three or more violation notices, excluding violations of Chapter 270, Waste and Recycling, or one or more life safety violation notices. Violations of life safety are determined by the code enforcement inspector in accordance with the Massachusetts Building Code, Sanitary Code and/or Fire Code.
J. 
The owner or owner's agent may appeal the decision to revoke a rental unit permit to the Board of Health. The appeal must be received within 15 days of the notice of the revoked permit being received, on the form provided by the Division of Development Services. A hearing will be set for the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Health, provided the appeal application is received 14 days prior to the meeting. If the appeal application is received less than 14 days prior to the next regularly scheduled Board of Health meeting, the appeal hearing will be set for the following regularly scheduled Board of Health meeting. The owner or owner's agent will have the right to inspect the public record regarding the matter and to appear and/or be represented at the hearing. Any person aggrieved by the appeal decision issued under this article may seek relief in any court of competent jurisdiction as provided by the laws of the commonwealth.
K. 
This article does not limit, eliminate, or in any way impact the City's authority to respond to complaints and/or requests for inspection from owners and/or tenants, seek remedy for violations, or pursue other enforcement allowed by state and local laws.
L. 
No person shall engage in the business of finding dwelling accommodations for prospective tenants for a fee unless such person is a licensed broker or salesman as defined in M.G.L. § 87PP of Chapter 112.
A. 
This article shall be enforced by City code enforcement inspectors or other designees.
B. 
There shall be a penalty of not more than $300 for any violation of this article. Each day of violation shall constitute a separate offense.
[Adopted 11-26-2024]
Whereas the Lowell City Council has accepted the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws, c. 44, § 55C, on August 27, 2024, there is hereby established a trust to be known as the Lowell Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Fund (the "trust"). The purpose of the trust is to provide for the creation and preservation of affordable housing in the City of Lowell, for the benefit of low- and moderate-income households.
A. 
There is hereby established a Board of Trustees (the "Board"), which shall include no fewer than five and no more than nine trustees, including ex-officio those persons who are serving from time to time in the following capacities: the City Manager of the City of Lowell or his/her designee; the Mayor of the City of Lowell or his/her designee; and the Executive Director of the Lowell Housing Authority or his/her designee. Those members of the Board who are not serving in an ex-officio capacity shall be appointed by the City Manager, with approval by the City Council required, and are designated as public agents for purposes of the constitution of the commonwealth.
B. 
There shall be at all times appointed to the Board an individual with financial/lending experience and an individual with experience in housing development. Trustees shall be appointed for a two-year term.
A. 
The Board oversees the City of Lowell's Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The Board advises and assists in the creation of a new affordable housing and the preservation, rehabilitation and maintenance of existing affordable housing in the City of Lowell. The Board is authorized to receive and accept contributions to the trust fund. The Board ensures the monies in the trust fund are used appropriately and the powers of the Board are consistent with those enumerated in MGL c. 44, § 55C, namely:
(1) 
To accept and receive real property, personal property or money, by gift, grant, contribution, devise or transfer from any person, firm, corporation or other public or private entity, including but not limited to money, grants of funds or other property tendered to the trust in connection with any ordinance or any general or special law or any other source, including money from MGL chapter 44B; provided, however, that any such money received from MGL chapter 44B shall be used exclusively for community housing and shall remain subject to all the rules, regulations and limitations of that chapter when expended by the trust, and such funds shall be accounted for separately by the trust; and provided further that at the end of each fiscal year, the trust shall ensure that all expenditures of funds received from said chapter 44B are reported to the community preservation committee of the City for inclusion in the community preservation initiatives report, form CP-3, to the department of revenue;
(2) 
To purchase and retain real or personal property, including without restriction investments that yield a high rate of income or no income;
(3) 
To sell, lease, exchange, transfer or convey any personal, mixed, or real property at public auction or by private contract for such consideration and on such terms as to credit or otherwise, and to make such contracts and enter into such undertaking relative to trust property as the Board deems advisable notwithstanding the length of any such lease or contract;
(4) 
To execute, acknowledge and deliver deeds, assignments, transfers, pledges, leases, covenants, contracts, promissory notes, releases, grant agreements and other instruments sealed or unsealed, necessary, proper or incident to any transaction in which the Board engages for the accomplishment of the purposes of the trust;
(5) 
To employ advisors and agents, such as accountants, appraisers and lawyers as the Board deems necessary;
(6) 
To pay reasonable compensation and expenses to all advisors and agents and to apportion such compensation between income and principal as the Board deems advisable;
(7) 
To apportion receipts and charges between incomes and principal as the Board deems advisable, to amortize premiums and establish sinking funds for such purpose, and to create reserves for depreciation depletion or otherwise;
(8) 
To participate in any reorganization, recapitalization, merger or similar transactions; and to give proxies or powers of attorney with or without power of substitution to vote any securities or certificates of interest; and to consent to any contract, lease, mortgage, purchase or sale of property, by or between any corporation and any other corporation or person;
(9) 
To deposit any security with any protective reorganization committee, and to delegate to such committee such powers and authority with relation thereto as the Board may deem proper and to pay, out of trust property, such portion of expenses and compensation of such committee as the Board may deem necessary and appropriate;
(10) 
To carry property for accounting purposes other than acquisition date values;
(11) 
To borrow money on such terms and conditions and from such sources as the Board deems advisable, to mortgage and pledge trust assets as collateral;
(12) 
To make distributions or divisions of principal in kind;
(13) 
To comprise, attribute, defend, enforce, release, settle or otherwise adjust claims in favor or against the trust, including claims for taxes, and to accept any property, either in total or partial satisfaction of any indebtedness or other obligation, and subject to the provisions of this act, to continue to hold the same for such period of time as the Board may deem appropriate;
(14) 
To manage or improve real property; and to abandon any property which the Board determined not to be worth retaining;
(15) 
To hold all or part of the trust property uninvested for such purposes and for such time as the Board may deem appropriate; and
(16) 
To extend the time for payment of any obligation to the trust.
(17) 
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, all moneys paid to the trust in accordance with any zoning ordinance or by-law, exaction fee, or private contributions shall be paid directly into the trust and need not be appropriated or accepted and approved into the trust. General revenues appropriated into the trust become trust property and to be expended these funds need not be further appropriated. All moneys remaining in the trust at the end of any fiscal year, whether or not expended by the Board within one year of the date they were appropriated into the trust, remain trust property.
B. 
The trust is a public employer and the members of the Board are public employees for purposes of MGL chapter 258.
C. 
The trust shall be deemed a municipal agency and the trustees special municipal employees, for purposes of MGL chapter 268A.
D. 
The trust is exempt from MGL chapters 59 and 62, and from any other provisions concerning payment of taxes based upon or measured by property or income imposed by the commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof.
E. 
The books and records of the trust shall be audited annually by an independent auditor in accordance with accepted accounting practices.
F. 
The trust is a governmental body for purposes of §§ 23A, 23B and 23C of MGL chapter 39.
G. 
The trust is a Board of the City or town for purposes of MGL chapter 30B and § 15A of MGL chapter 40, but agreements and conveyances between the trust and agencies, boards, commissions, authorities, departments and public instrumentalities of the City or town shall be exempt from said chapter 30B.
A. 
City Council. The Board interacts with the City Council primarily through the City Manager and the City Council's subcommittee on housing.
B. 
City Manager. Administrative and technical support is provided through the Planning and Development Department, Finance Department and the Department of Inspectional Services.
C. 
Multimember bodies. The Board in the furtherance of its stated purpose interacts with the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Conservation Commission and the Board of Health.
A. 
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, not later than one year following the entry of an order of foreclosure of tax title, the City of Lowell may dispose of property taken for non-payment of property taxes under M.G.L. c. 60 by transferring such property at no cost to the City's Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board. The Board shall dispose of all such property solely for the purpose of expanding the stock of affordable housing within the City by using the procedures specified in MGL c. 30B, § 16.
Notwithstanding any provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, all monies paid to the trust in accordance with any zoning ordinance, exaction fee, linkage fee, or private contributions shall be paid directly to the trust, and need not be appropriated or accepted and approved into the trust. General revenues appropriated into the trust become trust property, and to be expended, these funds do not need to be further appropriated. All monies remaining in the trust at the end of any fiscal year, whether or not expended by the Board within one year of the date they were appropriated into the trust, shall remain trust property.
The trust is exempt from the provisions of MGL c. 59 and c. 62 and from any other provisions concerning the payment of taxes based upon or measured by property or income imposed by the commonwealth of any political subdivision thereof.
The books and records of the trust shall be audited annually by an independent auditor in accordance with accepted accounting practices.