Winter Haven, FL Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

The city's Minimum Property Maintenance Standards, adopted as an amended version of the International Property Maintenance Code, require every premises and exterior property to be kept free from weeds or plant growth exceeding twelve inches in height. The code defines weeds broadly as all grasses, annual plants and vegetation other than trees or shrubs, but it carves out an exception for cultivated flowers, cultivated gardens and Central-region plants on the University of Florida IFAS Florida-Friendly Plant List, so long as those plantings are kept in an aesthetically pleasing manner and are not, in the Code Official's sole discretion, a dangerous or nuisance condition.

Noxious weeds are prohibited outright, with no height threshold. 4 sits inside Article VI of Chapter 5, which the city adopted through Ordinance No. O-10-15 to replace the former Standard Housing Code, and the same article also bars accumulations of broken lumber, rusted equipment, discarded appliances and similar debris in a yard for more than five days. Enforcement runs through the city's Code Enforcement Unit, reachable at (863) 291-5697, which issues notices and can refer unresolved cases to the Code Enforcement Special Master for a hearing.

Where no specific penalty is set for a Code violation, Section 1-13's general penalty applies: a fine of up to five hundred dollars, with each day the violation continues counted as a separate offense, so an uncut lot left unmowed for a week can accumulate multiple day-counts before a hearing even occurs.