Peterson also said he’ll comply with Genovese’s order during the appeal process.

“I want to do whatever I can to divest myself of control by selling all the properties,” he said. “I’ll take a tremendous loss on them but that’s what happens in these sales.”

Peterson can collect any money from the sales of his properties but the proceeds are subject to costs that the receiver incurred while managing the property, Zilavy said.

Genovese originally granted the city a temporary injunction in December that took away Peterson’s control of his properties after she ruled that 45 of his 48 rental properties met the criteria of public nuisance, which can be found when there are repeated violations of a city ordinance. Peterson filed a notice of appeal in January and the Court of Appeals dismissed it in February on the grounds that it was premature because there was not a final order. It then decided that a permanent injunction hearing needed to be set.

That hearing on March 4 led Genovese to conclude in her ruling issued Tuesday that Peterson has “openly, continuously and repeatedly violated the city’s housing and building code for 20 years.”