Caldwell, ID Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Caldwell City Code § 12-01-03
- Adopted code
- Uniform Code for Abatement of Dangerous Buildings, 1997
- Enacted by
- Ordinance 2673, April 3, 2007
- Remedies
- Repair, vacate or demolish; cumulative remedy
- Board-up rule
- § 12-01-27 requires FEMA/USFA board-up procedures
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor under § 01-01-05, separate offense per day
Summary
Caldwell enforces the 1997 Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings against any structure that endangers life, health, safety or welfare. Adopted under City Code § 12-01-03, it lets the building official order repair, vacation or demolition of unsafe buildings inside city limits, on top of remedies already available under the Building Code, Housing Code or state law.
There is hereby adopted for the purpose of providing a just, equitable and practicable method, to be cumulative with and in addition to, any other remedy provided by the Building Code, Housing Code or otherwise available at law, where buildings or structures which from any cause endanger the life, limb, health, morals, property, safety or welfare of the general public or their occupants may be required to be repaired, vacated or demolished, that certain code known as the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings, copyrighted by the International Conference of Building Officials, 1997 edition.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 Code: Local legislation current through Ordinance 3747, passed 3-16-2026).
Full Breakdown
The city adopted the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings, 1997 edition, published by the International Conference of Building Officials, through Ordinance 2673 on April 3, 2007, and it is codified at Caldwell City Code § 12-01-03. The code exists to give the building official a just and practicable method, on top of whatever remedy already exists under the Building Code, the Housing Code, or state law, for dealing with buildings or structures that endanger life, limb, health, morals, property, safety or welfare of the public or of their own occupants.
Under this authority, the building official may require a substandard structure to be repaired, vacated or demolished rather than left standing in a dangerous condition. Caldwell's building code itself, adopted at § 12-01-01, incorporates the 2018 International Building Code, Residential Code, Existing Building Code and Energy Conservation Code as amended by the Idaho Building Code Board, and where the city code sets a stricter standard than those model codes, § 12-01-01(2) makes the more restrictive rule control. S. Fire Administration's published Board Up Procedures pamphlet.
Property owners facing an abatement order should expect the building official, not the police department, to be the enforcing authority, and the order can run alongside a separate nuisance or housing-code proceeding rather than replacing it.
Violations & Fines
Violating any provision enforced under Chapter 12, including a dangerous-building order, is a misdemeanor under the citywide penalty clause at § 01-01-05, punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment up to the maximum set in Idaho Code § 50-302. Each day a violation continues is a separate offense, and the court or city council may revoke any license held by the violator.
Frequently Asked Questions
What triggers a dangerous-building order in Caldwell?
Can the city force demolition of my building?
What happens to a building that has to be boarded up?
What penalty applies for ignoring an abatement order?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Caldwell
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