Boynton Beach, FL Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Sec. 10-56, adopted by Ord. No. 08-031 in 2008, is Boynton Beach's general property maintenance standard, sitting in Chapter 10, Article IV. It applies to every structure, dwelling, and lot in the City and puts the maintenance duty on the property owner, while occupants remain responsible for the portion of the premises they occupy. Subsection (a)(3) singles out vacant structures and vacant land, requiring they stay clean, safe, secure, and sanitary specifically so they do not cause a blighting problem or threaten public health or safety.

The exterior-property standard in (b) requires all yards and grounds be maintained clean and sanitary, graded to prevent erosion and standing water, and kept free of rodent harborage. Weeds and plant growth over 12 inches are prohibited outright, and noxious weeds are banned entirely, though certified Florida Yards and Neighborhoods gardens and cultivated flower beds are excluded. Accessory structures such as detached garages, fences, and walls must be kept structurally sound, and graffiti or defacement of any exterior surface obligates the owner to restore the surface.

Subsection (d) extends the same structural-soundness duty to exterior walls, roofs, foundations, and overhang extensions, and subsection (g) requires rubbish and garbage to be stored in approved, leak-proof, covered containers rather than left to accumulate. Sec. 10-61 sets the penalty: violators face the general Code penalty under Sec. 1-6, plus a separate four-times-the-permit-fee surcharge if unpermitted work is discovered, though the Director of Development may waive that surcharge when the circumstances support it.