HAVERHILL — Like most cities, Haverhill has traditionally suffered from an absentee landlord problem.

Out-of-town investors would buy tenements in inner-city neighborhoods and then seldom show their faces. The buildings might be run down, or worse, abandoned — leaving city inspectors unable to track down the landlords.

With the economy slumping and promising further housing foreclosures, Haverhill is bracing for a worse absentee landlord problem — more empty buildings to keep track of and mortgage-holding companies that are halfway across the country.

Enter a new law that gives the city more control over empty buildings. The proposed ordinance requires owners to contact the city within seven days of abandoning a property or initiating foreclosure proceedings. The registration is to include contact information for the owner and a local property management company in charge of the security and maintenance of the building. A property manager must be retained for all abandoned property, the proposal says.

“This ordinance will allow us to be more proactive and get our inspectors out to properties owned by banks and mortgage companies and force them to fix up the properties,” Mayor James Fiorentini said. “The problem is, as we all know, many of the banks and mortgage companies are themselves out of business. The biggest problem is when we can’t find the mortgage holder. We need someone to cite and someone to go after.”

Fiorentini said he expects to have the law ready for the City Council to consider in two weeks.

City officials have identified about 100 troubled homes here — empty buildings that have either been seized by banks or are in the process of being seized through foreclosure proceedings.

Such vacant buildings, typically neighborhood eyesores and sometimes targets for arsonists and havens for drug use, are a growing concern. Several inner-city streets in Haverhill have more than one abandoned building. A recent tour of the Acre neighborhood, for instance, revealed dozens of multi-unit, empty homes in various stages of dilapidation.

Last week, Councilor Robert Scatamacchia asked what happened to the law that was being considered months ago to help Haverhill gain control over empty buildings. The answer, the mayor said, is that lawyers and city officials were doing research and drawing up language for the law.

Scatamacchia said he’s glad the law will be coming before the council in two weeks so the city can adopt it as the economic crisis looms.

“With the way the economy is going, there are going to be big problems over the course of the next few years,” he said of the likelihood of foreclosures leaving many buildings vacant.

He said the potential shoddy appearance of empty buildings, the “nuisance factor,” would hurt the values of neighboring homes.

“Companies from out of state that take over the mortgage have no interest in keeping up and maintaining the property,” Scatamacchia said. “They are so far removed from the city that there is no incentive for them.”

He said that since he brought up the issue last week, he has received several e-mails from neighbors of foreclosed-upon or abandoned buildings who are concerned about the possible effect on their homes.

Building owners are supposed to post a sign on their buildings and shut off water and electrical service when they abandon a property, but that is the exception rather than the rule, city officials said. The city becomes aware of most vacant buildings primarily as inspectors and fire officials come across them as they travel around the city, the mayor said.

If the city is unable to find the owner of an empty building, it is considered abandoned. If it falls into a severe state of disrepair, the city can destroy the building and place liens on the land for demolition costs.

Meanwhile, the number of residents seeking foreclosure assistance has been going up in recent weeks — at least two or three people contact city offices in a typical week now, Fiorentini said.

To address the crisis, the city is planning housing conferences later this fall for residents whose homes are being foreclosed.

“We have had two workshops for homeowners who are being foreclosed,” the mayor said, “and we are scheduling a new one in late October for homeowners and one in November for tenants.”

The federal government recently made available a large pot of money to help people with foreclosed homes and sub prime loans, but in Massachusetts that money has so far been reserved for people who live in Boston, Springfield, Brockton and Worcester, the mayor said.

“We have been trying to get federal money to help on this issue, but so far we have not been successful,” he said.

Anyone looking for help with a foreclosure issue should contact Lawrence Community Works in Lawrence or the Housing Preservation Center on Merrimack Street, he said.

Another resource is the walk-in Housing Preservation Center in Lowell. More information is available at www.coalitionforabetteracre.org.