Cathedral City, CA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Operative section
- § 13.80.115, Visual blight
- Time trigger
- Boarded up or partly built for more than ninety days
- Abandoned property registration
- Within ten days of inspection; renewal due January 1st
- Out-of-area owners
- Over twenty miles from city limits: local management company, weekly inspections
- Nuisance fines
- Up to $100, $200, $500 within twelve months, § 13.90.015
- Registration fines
- Up to $250, $500, $750, then $1,000, § 13.135.120
Summary
In Cathedral City, § 13.80.115 makes it a public nuisance to let a property or improvement become defective, unsightly or deteriorated enough to depress neighboring values, including structures left boarded up or partly built for more than ninety days. Chapter 13.135 adds registration duties for abandoned properties.
It is unlawful and it shall be declared a public nuisance for any person owning, leasing, occupying or having charge or possession of any premises or property in the city to maintain any such premises or property or improvement thereon in such a manner as to cause or to allow the premises, property or improvement to become defective, unsightly, or in such other condition of deterioration or disrepair as the same may cause substantial depreciation of the property values or similar detriment to surrounding properties, or otherwise have an adverse effect on the health, safety, or welfare of the citizens of the city. ... (b) the presence of any improvement with cracked or broken windows, roofs in disrepair, damaged porches or broken steps; (c) the presence of any improvement which is abandoned, boarded up, partially destroyed or left in a state of partial construction or repair for more than ninety days;
Full Breakdown
Section 13.80.115 of the Cathedral City Municipal Code, titled Visual blight, applies to any person owning, leasing, occupying or having charge or possession of premises in the city. The core test is a property or improvement that becomes defective, unsightly or in a condition of deterioration or disrepair that may cause substantial depreciation of property values or similar detriment to surrounding properties, or otherwise has an adverse effect on the health, safety or welfare of the citizens of the city.
The section then lists conditions of visual blight, and the list is not exclusive. It includes exterior coatings on buildings, garages, carports, wooden fences, block walls, roofs or gutters so deteriorated as to permit decay, excessive checking, cracking or warping; cracked or broken windows, roofs in disrepair, damaged porches or broken steps; improvements abandoned, boarded up, partially destroyed or left in partial construction or repair for more than ninety days; abandoned, damaged or broken equipment or machinery visible from a public street or an adjoining property; and excessive junk, refuse and garbage visible from a public street or an adjoining property.
Related sections reach dangerous structures. Section 13.80.080 makes it a nuisance to abandon or permanently vacate a building so it becomes accessible to unauthorized persons for unlawful or hazardous use or becomes a menace to public health or safety. Section 13.80.105 covers a building or structure constructed or maintained in violation of state or local law, and § 13.80.135 covers an imminent safety hazard.
Chapter 13.135 sets up registration for abandoned properties, meaning vacant properties under a notice of default or trustee's sale or held after foreclosure. Registration is due within ten days of inspection, renewal is due January 1st and must be received by January 31st, and an owner or lender located over twenty miles from the city limits must hire a local property management company that inspects weekly (§§ 13.135.040, 13.135.050). The building and code compliance departments jointly administer the chapter (§ 13.135.090).
Violations & Fines
Visual blight is a public nuisance with administrative fines of up to $100 for a first violation, $200 for a second violation within twelve months and $500 for the third and each later violation (§ 13.90.015). Abandoned property registration violations carry fines on conviction of up to $250, $500 and $750, and $1,000 for a fourth offense within twelve months (§ 13.135.120).
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as visual blight in Cathedral City?
How long can a house stay boarded up before it is blight?
When must a lender register a vacant foreclosed property?
Is there a registration fee for an abandoned property?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Cathedral City
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Property Blight in Nearby Cities
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