31 Del. C. ch. 44 § 4404
Custodianship procedures
Operative Text
(a) The Court shall appoint a custodian qualified to carry out the responsibilities of this chapter and such custodian may be the Delaware State Housing Authority, or its successor agency, by agreement of all parties of interest pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, or otherwise by order of the Court. (b) (1) Upon its appointment, the custodian shall make within 15 days an independent finding and recommendation to the Court as to whether or not there is proper cause shown for the need for rent to be paid to it, and for the employment of a private contractor to correct the condition complained of in § 4400 of this title and found by the Court to exist. (2) If the custodian makes such a finding and recommendation to the Court and the Court adopts the custodian’s recommendation, the custodian shall file a copy of the Court’s order with the recorder of deeds of the county where the property lies and it shall be a lien on that property where the violation complained of exists. (3) Upon completion of the aforesaid contractual work and full payment to the contractor, the custodian shall file a certification of such with the Court and the recorder of deeds of the appropriate county, and this filing shall release the aforesaid lien. (4) The custodian shall forthwith give notice to all lien-holders of record. (5) If the custodian shall make a finding at such time or any other time that for any reason the appointment of the custodian may not be appropriate and/or is no longer necessary, it shall make application to the Court for discharge after notice to all interested parties and, if so ordered, shall make legal distribution of any funds in its possession, including the return of any security posted pursuant to this chapter.
Under 31 Del. C. ch. 44 § 4404, when a court determines that a property has conditions warranting custodianship, it appoints a qualified custodian—potentially the Delaware State Housing Authority—to oversee the remediation process. Within 15 days of appointment, the custodian must independently assess whether rent should be redirected to it and whether a private contractor should be hired to fix the identified violations. The custodian's findings, once adopted by the court, are recorded as a lien on the property, which is released only after the corrective work is completed and the contractor is fully paid.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Under 31 Del. C. ch. 44 § 4404, a court-appointed custodian takes on oversight of a property when serious habitability violations have been found, and the custodian's order is recorded as a lien against that property. Compliant property operators generally address underlying conditions before custodianship proceedings reach this stage, since a recorded lien can affect title and financing. Landlords subject to a custodianship order should be aware that rent payments may be redirected to the custodian until the court-approved remediation work is completed and certified.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Section 4404 of 31 Del. C. ch. 44 establishes a court-supervised custodianship process that can redirect rent payments away from a landlord and toward fixing serious property conditions. Tenants whose properties are subject to this process have an interest in the custodian's independent findings, which are submitted to the court within 15 days of appointment and can result in a binding lien on the property. Tenants seeking to understand how this process applies to their building may find it useful to consult a tenant-rights organization or review filings with the recorder of deeds in the relevant county.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated October 22, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
Effective Timeline
References In
Rules and statutes that cite this regulation