Roanoke County, VA Code Violation Reporting: How to Report (2026)
Key Facts
- Report to
- enforcement agent (county administrator/designee)
- Governing section
- § 13-155
- Follow-up step
- inspection under § 13-156
- Notice given
- 10 calendar days to fix
- Covers
- weeds/grass § 13-153, trash § 13-154
Summary
In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), anyone bothered by tall weeds or grass, or by trash piling up on a nearby parcel, can report it directly to the enforcement agent under County Code § 13-155. The agent, the county administrator or a designee, then inspects the site under § 13-156 before any notice or penalty follows.
Any person aggrieved by the presence of weeds or grass in violation of section 13-153 or the accumulation of trash in violation of section 13-154 may report such presence to the enforcement agent. ... Upon receipt of a report as referred to in section 13-155, the enforcement agent shall cause the site of the reported violation to be inspected pursuant to applicable constitutional and statutory provisions. When the enforcement agent has determined from such reports and inspections or otherwise that a violation in fact exists, he shall notify the owner of the land or parcel upon which the violation exists to cut or cause to be cut the weeds or grass complained of, or to remove the accumulation of trash, within ten (10) calendar days of the delivery, mailing or posting of the notice.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 13, Article IV (Weeds and Trash) gives residents a direct reporting channel rather than routing complaints through a general code-enforcement hotline. Section 13-155 lets 'any person aggrieved by the presence of weeds or grass in violation of section 13-153 or the accumulation of trash in violation of section 13-154' report that condition to the enforcement agent, defined at § 13-151 as the county administrator or his designee. ' If the inspection confirms a violation, the agent must notify the property owner in writing, delivered by hand or mailed to the owner's last known address, or if the owner cannot be found after a reasonable search, sent by certified mail with a copy posted on the property, giving the owner ten calendar days to cut the weeds or grass or remove the trash.
Only after that notice period expires without compliance does the county move to its own abatement remedy under § 13-157, cutting the lot or clearing the trash and billing the owner, with unpaid charges becoming a property lien. The article covers weeds under § 13-153 and trash accumulation under § 13-154; littering complaints under § 13-159 follow the same reporting structure to the enforcement agent.
Violations & Fines
Reporting itself carries no penalty; it triggers the county's process. Once the enforcement agent confirms a violation and the owner ignores the ten-day cut or clean-up notice, the owner faces the article's civil penalties, up to $100 for an occupied-lot grass violation under § 13-152(b) or up to $50-$200 (capped at $3,000 in twelve months) for other article violations under § 13-152(a).
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I report tall weeds or trash in Roanoke County?
What happens after I report a violation?
Does the county fine the owner right away?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Roanoke County
Compare Roanoke County to another location·View the Virginia code violation reporting overview
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