Bloomington, IN Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Administering department
- Housing and Neighborhood Development (HAND)
- Hearing authority
- Board of Public Works
- Governing statute
- Indiana Code § 36-7-9 et seq.
- Sealing material standard
- half-inch exterior-grade plywood or OSB
- Fastener spec
- 2 3/4-inch ring nails, 8 inches apart
- Penalty basis
- set by state statute, not a flat city fine
Summary
In the City of Bloomington, a structure found unsafe under state law can be sealed, repaired or ordered vacated through the city's Unsafe Building Law, Bloomington Municipal Code Chapter 17.16. The Housing and Neighborhood Development department administers the chapter and the Board of Public Works serves as hearing authority, incorporating Indiana Code § 36-7-9's unsafe-building procedures and Indiana Administrative Code building rules directly into city law.
In accordance with Indiana Code § 36-7-9 et seq., this chapter is established and shall be known as the Unsafe Building Law of the City of Bloomington, Indiana. The regulations of this chapter shall apply throughout the corporate limits of the City of Bloomington, Indiana. ... (a)Indiana Code § 36-7-9 et seq. is hereby incorporated by reference in this chapter as the Unsafe Building Law of the City of Bloomington, Indiana; the definition of "substantial property interest" found in Indiana Code § 36-7-9-2 is explicitly incorporated by reference. ... Pursuant to Indiana Code §§ 36-7-9-5(a)(2) and 36-7-9-5(a)(8), this section hereby establishes a uniform standard for sealing an unsafe building against intrusion by unauthorized persons when such an order is issued by the housing and neighborhood development department or the board of public of works:
Full Breakdown
16 as the Unsafe Building Law of the City of Bloomington and applies it throughout the corporate limits. by reference, including the Indiana Code § 36-7-9-2 definition of a substantial property interest, so any person with such an interest in a blighted or dangerous structure, an owner, lienholder or other party of record, can be brought into an enforcement action. 040 makes the Board of Public Works the hearing authority for unsafe-building orders. 060 sets uniform physical standards for that seal: openings must be closed with weatherproofed plywood or oriented strand board at least one-half inch thick, fastened with two-and-three-quarter-inch ring nails, with two-by-four exterior bracing and three-eighths-inch carriage bolts required on any opening wider than twenty-six square feet, and ground-level doors secured with two hasp locks and padlocks.
Openings more than twenty feet up and inaccessible from the building need only be covered to keep out birds and rats. , which is amended from time to time, so the applicable penalty is whatever that state statute currently provides.
Violations & Fines
There is no flat local fine under Chapter 17.16: § 17.16.070 ties penalties for defying an unsafe-building order to Indiana Code § 36-7-9 et seq. as amended. HAND enforces day-to-day compliance, including the sealing standards in § 17.16.060, and the Board of Public Works hears disputes as the chapter's hearing authority before any state-law penalty or abatement proceeds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides if a building in Bloomington is unsafe?
How does the city secure a vacant unsafe building?
What penalty applies if I ignore an unsafe-building order?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bloomington
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