Cass County, MO Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Damage threshold
- 33% supporting members or 50% walls
- Notice compliance period
- up to 30 days
- Hearing Board
- the County Commission
- Open/unoccupied building limit
- 24 hours before violation
- Cost recovery
- special tax bill, lien on property
Summary
Under Chapter 505, Cass County's Building Inspector can declare a structure in unincorporated Cass County a dangerous building and public nuisance for conditions like severe structural damage, fire hazards, or trash accumulation, opening a notice, hearing and abatement order process before the County Commission.
Any building having any of the following conditions is hereby declared a dangerous building and public nuisance, to the extent that such conditions are detrimental to the life, health, property, or safety of the public or its occupants: ... Those which, exclusive of the foundation, show thirty-three percent (33%) or more of damage or deterioration of the supporting members, or fifty percent (50%) of damage or deterioration of the non-supporting enclosing or outside walls or covering. ... Those containing therein substantial accumulations of trash, garbage, or other materials susceptible to fire, or constituting or providing a harboring place for vermin or other obnoxious animals or insects or in any way threatening the health of the occupants thereof or the health of the persons in the vicinity thereof.
Full Breakdown
050 declares a building a dangerous building and public nuisance when conditions are detrimental to life, health, property or safety, including walls that lean beyond plumb, structural damage exceeding 33 percent of supporting members or 50 percent of enclosing walls, overloaded or insufficiently strong floors and roofs, substantial fire or storm damage, unoccupied buildings left open at door, window, wall or roof, stalled construction or demolition, code violations, trash accumulations that harbor vermin, unsanitary or unfit-for-habitation conditions, inadequate fire egress, and fire hazards from faulty wiring or heating.
040, the Building Inspector investigates complaints and reports dangerous buildings to the Building Commissioner, a role filled by the Presiding Commissioner unless the County Commission appoints someone else. 070. 150 lets the Building Inspector board and secure open, unoccupied buildings immediately as an emergency measure.
Violations & Fines
Cass County Code § 505.140 makes it a Code violation for an owner, occupant or lessee to fail to comply with a Hearing Board repair, vacate or demolish order, for an occupant to fail to vacate within the notice period, for anyone to remove a posted dangerous-building notice, or for an owner to leave an unoccupied building open more than 24 hours outside a valid repair permit. Under § 505.160, the county recovers its abatement costs, plus reasonable administrative costs, through a special tax bill against the property that becomes a personal debt and a lien until paid, payable in installments up to 10 years at 8 percent interest on request.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides if a building is dangerous in unincorporated Cass County?
How long do I have to fix a dangerous building once notified?
Can Cass County demolish my building and bill me for it?
Can an emergency dangerous building be abated without a hearing first?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Cass County
Compare Cass County to another location·View the Missouri property maintenance overview
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