Chesapeake, VA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

The director of development and permits, with the city attorney's concurrence, applies a written policy weighing habitual code violations, neglect or abandonment, and dangerous conditions to decide whether a building endangers public health or safety. Once declared dangerous, the owner and any lienholders get written notice by certified mail specifying the defects and a deadline to repair or demolish; the city also publishes the declaration in a newspaper for two consecutive weeks and posts notice on the building itself. If the building poses a significant threat to safety, the city may bar entry within seven days and posts a sign reading that the building is dangerous and no access is authorized.

Owners have 30 days from the notice to appeal the determination to the city manager or a designee who was not involved in the original decision. If the owner cannot be found or refuses to comply, and the city attorney's office signs off, the director can order demolition, but not until at least 30 days after the certified-mail receipt returns or the second newspaper notice runs. Demolition costs, an administrative fee, and advertising costs become a lien on the property with the same priority as unpaid city taxes.

Companion tools in the same chapter cover criminal-blight properties tied to drugs or prostitution and derelict buildings vacant more than six months, each with its own notice-and-cure process.