Blight enforcement in Kanawha County is split. Charleston and the other cities run active code enforcement against dilapidated buildings, junk and overgrowth. In the unincorporated county, the County Commission uses its state-granted authority to order unsafe, dilapidated structures repaired or removed.
Inside the cities, property-maintenance codes do the heavy lifting: Charleston's code enforcement division cites peeling paint, broken or boarded windows, accumulated junk, inoperable vehicles and overgrown lots, gives written notice with a compliance deadline, and can abate and lien the cost. In the unincorporated county, the Kanawha County Commission draws its power from WV Code §7-1-3ff, which lets county commissions adopt ordinances to regulate and order the repair or removal of dilapidated, unsafe and unsanitary buildings. West Virginia's older Appalachian housing stock and pockets of vacancy make this a live issue. Owners get notice and a chance to fix conditions before the county or city acts.
After written notice and a compliance period, a city or the county may abate the nuisance — clean the lot or demolish an unsafe structure — and charge or lien the cost against the property, with escalating fines.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Kanawha County, WV
Kanawha County does not regulate holiday lights, inflatables, or yard displays on private property, and West Virginia has no state holiday-display law. No co...
Kanawha County, WV
Temporary garage-sale signs are generally fine on your own property. Unincorporated Kanawha County barely regulates them; cities apply their zoning sign code...
Kanawha County, WV
Political signs are allowed on private property across Kanawha County. Unincorporated areas have little sign regulation; Charleston's zoning code governs sig...
Kanawha County, WV
West Virginia has no statewide rental license, and unincorporated Kanawha County runs no rental registry. Programs are municipal: West Virginia Code §8-12-16...
Kanawha County, WV
West Virginia has no just-cause eviction law, and Kanawha County cannot add one. A landlord ends a month-to-month tenancy with a full period's notice under §...
Kanawha County, WV
Neither Kanawha County nor Charleston can impose rent control. West Virginia is a Dillon's Rule state, and the Legislature has never granted local government...
See how Kanawha County's property blight rules stack up against other locations.
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