Bristol, CT Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Penalty
- Up to $100 per day, § 5-54
- Violation type
- Infraction, separate offense daily
- Enforcement body
- Code enforcement committee, § 5-55
- Abatement lien
- Recorded under C.G.S. § 49-73b
- Notice period
- 10 days to abate
Summary
In the City of Bristol, Connecticut, City Code § 5-46 declares substandard, deteriorated and blighted structures a threat to public health and property values, and § 5-54 bans creating or maintaining blighted premises, punishing violations with a fine of up to $100 per day as a separate infraction.
It is found and declared that there exist within the city properties with residential and nonresidential structures that are substandard with respect to structural integrity or maintenance. It is further found that certain conditions causing these structures to be substandard adversely affect the economic well being of the city and are harmful to the health, safety and welfare of city residents. These conditions include, but are not limited to, the following: structural deterioration, lack of maintenance, infestation, fire hazards, accumulating refuse on private property, storage of two (2) or more unregistered vehicles (junk yard) and unsanitary conditions. ... No owner, operator or occupant of real property in the city shall cause or allow blighted premises to be created, nor allow the continued existence of blighted premises. ... The violation of this provision shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred ($100.00) dollars. Each day any violation of this provision continues shall constitute a separate offense.
Full Breakdown
Article V of Chapter 5, Property Maintenance and Code Enforcement, opens with a legislative finding at § 5-46: the city has residential and nonresidential structures that are substandard in structural integrity or maintenance, and lists the conditions it targets, including structural deterioration, lack of maintenance, infestation, fire hazards, accumulating refuse, and storing two or more unregistered vehicles as an unlawful junkyard. Section 5-52(a) turns that finding into a duty: owners must keep the exterior of every structure and accessory structure, including fences and walls, free of broken glass, loose shingles, crumbling stone or brick, holes, loose boards, and damaged siding that lets in rain, cold air or vermin, and every building must stay weather and watertight.
Section 5-54 then makes violating any of Article V's owner, operator or occupant duties a blighted-premises violation in its own right, punishable by a fine of not more than $100, with each day of continued violation a separate offense and infraction. A code enforcement committee under § 5-55, made up of the mayor, police chief, zoning enforcement officer, health director, fire marshal, public works director, chief building official and water superintendent, meets regularly to review building, housing, fire, health and zoning violations citywide and can approve a city-funded abatement plan when an owner has exhausted appeal rights.
Costs the city advances to abate a blighted property become a lien on the real estate, recorded under Connecticut General Statutes §§ 49-73b and 49-34, and recoverable from the owner under § 5-56.
Violations & Fines
Each day a blighted condition continues after the chief building official's ten-day notice is a separate $100 infraction under § 5-54. Owners who ignore an abatement order also risk the city hiring a contractor to fix the property and filing a lien against the real estate for the cost, per § 5-56 and Connecticut General Statutes § 49-73b.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a blighted premises violation in Bristol?
Who enforces Bristol's blight ordinance?
Can the city put a lien on my property for blight cleanup?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bristol
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