Canton, OH Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Section 1301.11(a) provides that a building or structure that may be, or at any time becomes, an unsafe building or structure must be taken down and removed, unless it is made safe and secure, once the Chief Building Official so orders. Section 1301.11(b) then makes it the Chief Building Official's further duty to cause proceedings to be instituted to enjoin continued use of the property if the responsible person fails to remove or remedy the unsafe condition. This removal power operates alongside the notice and vacate procedures in the same chapter: Section 1301.12 requires the Chief Building Official to inspect on receipt of information that a building is unsafe and to serve written notice describing the unsafe conditions and an order to make the property safe or remove it within a stated time, using certified mail and conspicuous posting when the responsible party cannot be located.

Section 1301.13 lets the official order occupants to vacate a building that endangers life, post a notice at each entrance declaring the building unsafe and closed to occupancy, and even temporarily close adjacent sidewalks or streets when public safety requires it. If the owner disregards the notice, Section 1301.14 directs the City Law Director to institute a court action to compel compliance, and the Police Department must aid the Chief Building Official in enforcing a vacate order. In a true emergency, Section 1301.15 authorizes immediate work to render the structure temporarily safe without waiting on these procedures.