Garland County, AR Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

§ 14-14-813 police-power authority, makes it a violation for any party to let a building or structure become unsanitary, unsightly or unsafe, or to let the surrounding property become a hazardous, safety, environmental or health threat, in unincorporated Garland County. The lead violation on the list is any 'abandoned, dilapidated or burned out building or structure' that threatens public safety, is weakened and likely to collapse, or is otherwise hazardous; Sec. 14-75 defines that category as a structure unoccupied and without upkeep sufficient to prevent structural decay or collapse, or one partially burned and unrepaired for over a year and open to unauthorized entry.

Enforcement under Sec. 14-74 starts with a county inspection, then a written first notice giving the owner up to 30 days to remedy the condition, unless the hazard is imminent, in which case the county can act immediately and notify the owner afterward. If the deadline passes, a certified-mail second notice is posted at the property's entrance describing the violation and possible penalties; seven days after that, an uncorrected violation is cited into district court. The county can also condemn, sell, raze or board up an abandoned structure by quorum court resolution and recover the abatement cost from the owner through a lien, property-tax attachment or other legal collection method.

Two narrow carve-outs in Sec. 14-76 keep this article from reaching working farmland or remote acreage: land valued and farmed as agricultural property, and any parcel larger than ten acres where the unsightly or unsanitary condition is not visible from a public road. Sheriff's deputies, county environmental officers and illegal-dumps control officers are the authorized enforcement agents under Sec. '