Charlottesville, VA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Section 5-163 defines an "unsafe structure" as any existing building, wall or structure that fails to comply with the USBC through damage, deterioration, infestation or improper maintenance and has become unsafe, unsanitary or deficient in exit facilities, or that is otherwise dangerous to life, health, safety or the public welfare. Once a structure meets that definition, subsection (b) declares it a public nuisance "unfit for human habitation" and gives the owner three ways to comply: repair it into USBC compliance, vacate it and secure it against public entry, or take it down and remove it.

The building maintenance official investigates on learning of a possible unsafe structure, inspects it, and files a written report describing its use, conditions found and the extent of the problem with the Department of Neighborhood Development Services. If the official confirms the structure is unsafe, a notice goes to the owner and to any recorded lienholder, giving them thirty days to make the necessary repairs; the section spells out detailed service rules for individuals, minors, corporations and owners who cannot be located, down to newspaper publication for two successive weeks as a last resort.

Where the official finds an immediate danger of collapse or an imminent threat to occupants, § 5-163(f) authorizes emergency action without waiting out the thirty-day period, including emergency repairs, securing the structure, razing it if needed, and placarding it as unfit for occupancy; occupying or removing a placard without written permission is itself a misdemeanor. If the owner and lienholder still fail to act, the city may remove, repair or secure the structure itself and bill all costs to the owner, with unpaid balances over thirty days becoming a lien enforceable the same way as delinquent local taxes.