Boulder, CO Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- B.R.C. 1981 Ch. 10-2.5
- Imminent-risk abatement deadline
- 24 hours
- Standard abatement deadline
- 7 days
- First civil penalty
- $250 per infraction
- Fourth+ civil penalty
- $2,000 per infraction
- Unpaid abatement cost interest
- 8% compounded annually, becomes a lien
Summary
Boulder abates blighted or nuisance properties under B.R.C. 1981 Chapter 10-2.5. A peace officer can order an owner to abate within 24 hours for an imminent hazard or seven days for other nuisances, and unpaid abatement costs become a lien on the parcel.
Upon discovering a public nuisance, a peace officer may issue and serve a notice to abate on the owner, lessee, or agent, as applicable, directing them to remove and abate the nuisance from the parcel within the time specified in the notice as follows:(1)Within twenty-four hours of the issuance of the notice, if the nuisance poses an imminent and substantial risk of damaging other property (including personal property of any other person), injuring an individual, or threatening the public health, safety, or welfare; or(2)Within seven days for all other public nuisances, or such longer period of time as the peace officer determines is appropriate, if, based on the facts and circumstances, the nuisance could not reasonably be abated within seven days.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 167 Update 3).
Full Breakdown
5-5, once a peace officer discovers a public nuisance on a parcel, the officer serves a notice to abate on the owner, lessee, or agent. Nuisances that pose an imminent and substantial risk of property damage, injury, or a threat to public health, safety, or welfare must be corrected within 24 hours; all other public nuisances get seven days, or longer if the officer decides the condition cannot reasonably be fixed that fast. 5-3 makes every owner, lessee, agent, tenant, or occupant with control of the parcel responsible for abating the nuisance and preventing it from recurring, and a person in possession is presumed to be the cause unless rebutted by clear and convincing evidence.
5-9: the invoice covers the city's internal and external abatement costs, is due within 45 days, accrues 8 percent annual interest if unpaid, and becomes a perpetual lien against the parcel. 5-7 within ten business days of that notice, or the city may proceed to abate the nuisance itself.
Violations & Fines
Section 10-2.5-11 sets escalating civil penalties per parcel, per year: $250 for a first infraction, $500 for a second, $1,000 for a third, and $2,000 for each additional infraction, with every day the nuisance continues after the abatement deadline counted as a separate violation. Section 10-2.5-10 makes failing to obey a chronic nuisance notice or abatement order a criminal offense under the general penalty provisions of Section 5-2-4, B.R.C. 1981.
Frequently Asked Questions
How fast must a Boulder property owner fix a public nuisance?
What happens if the city abates the nuisance itself?
Can repeat violations lead to bigger penalties?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Boulder
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Property Blight in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Boulder County handle property blight.