Henry County, GA Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Sec. 3-16-21 defines a junked motor vehicle as any power-propelled contrivance used for transporting persons or property on public streets that is wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled, inoperative or discarded. Sec. 3-16-22 declares the presence of such a vehicle on public property or on any private lot, tract or parcel, occupied or unoccupied, improved or unimproved, a public nuisance, and it is unlawful either to create that condition by wrecking or dismantling a vehicle on another's property or to allow a junked vehicle to sit on your own.

Three exceptions apply: a vehicle inside an enclosed building, a vehicle on a lawfully operating business's premises where it is necessary to that business, and a vehicle on property used for repair, reconditioning or remodeling in conformance with the zoning ordinance. Sec. 3-16-23 authorizes the sheriff, the director of public works, or their designated staff (or a county contractor) to enter private or public property to inspect, identify or remove a junked vehicle declared a nuisance. Sec. 3-16-24 requires a written notice specifying the nuisance and its location, and giving the owner ten days from the notice to abate it; if the owner cannot be identified after a diligent search, the notice may be served by attaching it to the vehicle itself.