Arlington County, VA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Article II of Chapter 29 defines and authorizes blight abatement. Section 29-12 defines a blighted property as one where dilapidation, overcrowding, lack of ventilation, light, or sanitary facilities, or similar factors are detrimental to community safety, health, morals, or welfare, or any property the Code Official has determined meets the definition of an unsafe building. The County may weigh factors including a condemned structure vacant for at least a year and never repaired or demolished, rat or rodent infestation or harborages, three or more prior citations for code violations, inadequate sewage, plumbing, well, or heating facilities, failure to secure a vacant property against trespassers, an attractive nuisance to children, a fire hazard identified by the Fire Department or Building Official, and substantial dilapidation such as structural collapse or exposed structural members from rotted siding or roofing.

Section 29-13 sets the process: the County Manager gives written notice of a preliminary blight finding, the owner gets 30 days to submit a cure plan, and 90 days to complete approved work once the plan is accepted, with extensions available against a performance bond if substantial progress is being made. If the owner misses those deadlines, the Planning Commission holds a public hearing, advertised twice in a local newspaper, and reports findings to the County Board, which can affirm, modify, or reject a repair-or-disposal plan.

As an alternative to eminent domain, § 29-15 lets the County Board declare a blighted property a nuisance and abate it under state law after certified-mail notice to the owner.