Aurora, CO Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing law
- Aurora City Code § 22-636
- Minimum daily fine
- $50, per day of violation
- Emergency vacate deadline
- 15 days after placarding
- Enforcement
- City manager / neighborhood services
- Remedy for refusal
- Court action; demolition cost lien
Summary
Aurora, Colorado can declare a building or premises "substandard" for fire, structural, sanitation or vermin hazards and order it repaired, demolished or vacated as a public nuisance under the city's Health and Housing Code.
Any building or portion thereof or the premises on which the building or portion thereof is located in which there exists any of the following listed conditions to an extent that endangers the life, limb, health, property, safety or welfare of the public or the occupants thereof shall be deemed to be and is declared substandard:
(1) Inadequate fire resistive construction and firefighting equipment as required by the building code for the appropriate occupancy, type of construction and location on property.
(2) Improperly installed and improperly maintained buildings, facilities, pieces of equipment and utilities so as to cause possible injury or harm to persons and or present a general dilapidation.
(3) Premises on which are found weeds; vegetation; junk, to include but not be limited to abandoned, unused or nonoperational appliances, such as vehicles, machinery and household furnishings or parts thereof; debris; garbage; offal; rat harborages; stagnant water; combustible materials; and similar materials or conditions which constitute fire, health or safety hazards.
(4) Buildings or portions thereof which are infested with insects, vermin or rodents as determined in accordance with applicable health laws creating an unsafe or unhealthy human environment and which also create an unsafe or unhealthy human environment to adjacent premises and buildings.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 2026-30, passed June 22, 2026).
Full Breakdown
Under Aurora City Code § 22-636, a building or premises is "substandard" if it has inadequate fire-resistive construction, improperly maintained equipment causing dilapidation, weeds/junk/debris/garbage/rat harborages creating fire or health hazards, or insect/rodent infestation endangering occupants or neighbors. Substandard conditions "shall be corrected or abated by maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, demolition or removal." If an owner refuses an abatement order during an emergency to public health or safety, the city manager can sue in court to have the structure declared a public nuisance subject to demolition, per § 22-608: with demolition costs becoming a lien on the property, collected like real property taxes.
Violations & Fines
Each day of noncompliance is a separate violation carrying a mandatory minimum $50 fine, suspended only if corrected within 30 days (§ 22-568). Buildings found an imminent hazard can be placarded unsafe and vacated within 15 days (§ 22-606); abatement/demolition costs become a lien collected like property taxes (§ 22-608).
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a building "substandard" in Aurora?
Can the city demolish a substandard building?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Aurora
Compare Aurora to another location·View the Colorado property maintenance overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.
Property Blight in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Arapahoe County handle property blight.