Washington County, UT Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Section 4-1-1 defines a "public nuisance" to include any fence, wall, shed, deck, house, garage, building, or structure, or any lot, land, yard, or premises that, by its condition, endangers health, safety, or property, including a property that lacks sufficient maintenance or sits vacant to an extent that it depreciates enjoyment and use of nearby property to the harm of the surrounding community. The building inspector investigates suspected violations countywide under section 4-1-3 and, on finding one, must serve written notice on the owner or occupant, personally or by mail to the address on file with the county treasurer, ordering the nuisance eradicated within a period the inspector sets, not to exceed thirty (30) days, per section 4-1-4.

The notice must be a letter approved by the county commission stating how the code is being violated and the property's description, per section 4-1-5, and if it cannot be served, the county publishes it in a newspaper of general circulation once a week for three consecutive weeks. An owner may demand a hearing before the county commission within seven calendar days of receiving notice, and being boarded up is not a defense to a finding that a nuisance exists, per section 4-1-6. If the property is not brought into compliance, section 4-1-7 lets the building inspector enter and abate the nuisance directly, using county departments or a private contractor, then bill the owner within twenty days.