Charles County, MD Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Section 85-2 of the County Code declares exterior building disrepair on improved residential property, including broken windows, flaking paint, broken shutters or rainspouts, or other damage that shows a general disregard for reasonable care and maintenance, to be a public nuisance. It also folds in any noncompliant condition specified in Chapter 3 of the International Property Maintenance Code, tying the county's nuisance law to the building code's maintenance standards. Enforcement starts with a written complaint, either from landowners in the same election district or a qualifying landowners' association, or from the County Commissioners' own designee acting on its judgment that a nuisance exists.

Under § 85-3, that complaint sets a 30-day deadline for the owner to abate the conditions and schedules a hearing before the Nuisance Abatement Board, which the owner can answer in writing and attend in person; Maryland's formal Rules of Procedure do not apply to that hearing. If the Board finds a § 85-2 nuisance, it can order the owner, within 14 days, to correct the exterior building disrepair or fix any noncompliant IPMC condition, per § 85-5. An owner who loses can appeal to the County Commissioners within 14 calendar days, which pauses the compliance clock, but must comply within 14 days of losing that appeal.

If the owner still does not comply, § 85-6 lets the county repair the structure itself and bill the owner for the actual cost. An unpaid bill becomes a lien on the property after 60 days, plus 12% annual interest added to the next property tax bill, and § 85-9 adds a separate penalty fee, set by the county's Approved Fees and Charges Schedule, on top of those repair costs.