Grand Forks, ND Code Violation Reporting: How to Report (2026)

Grand Forks City Code section 10-0402 sets the code enforcement officer's duties in motion two ways: inspecting any building, wall or structure about which complaints are filed by any person alleging a violation of the substandard building article, and inspecting anything reported by the fire, health or police department as probably violating the article. That first route means a resident, tenant, or neighbor does not need any official standing to open a case; filing a complaint with the officer is enough to require an inspection.

If the officer's inspection finds the building meets the section 10-0401 substandard standards, the officer must notify in writing the owner, occupant, lessee, mortgagee and everyone else with a recorded interest in the property, as shown in the Grand Forks County Register of Deeds records, directing them to vacate, repair or demolish the building. The officer must give the recipient a reasonable time, not exceeding forty-five days from the order, to physically commence the required work, and must set out in the notice a description of the building, the specific defects found, and the time allowed to come into compliance.

The officer also must report noncompliance to the city council, appear at council hearings to testify about the building's condition, and post a statutory notice on the building itself warning that it has been found substandard and that removing the notice before compliance is unlawful.