Gary, IN Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Gary Municipal Code § 105-724 adopts the provisions of Indiana's unsafe building law, IC 36-7-9, by reference as the city's own unsafe building code, with two copies on file for public inspection in the city clerk's office. Section 105-725 places responsibility for administering that code with the Building Commissioner's office, and § 105-726 incorporates the state law's definition of 'substantial property interest' for use in local unsafe-building proceedings. Section 105-727 sets up a dedicated Unsafe Building Fund in the Building Commissioner's operating budget, authorized under IC 36-7-9-14, to help pay for the city's unsafe building enforcement work.

Beyond simply adopting the state process, Gary imposes its own maintenance duty on vacant and abandoned structures: § 105-728 requires the owner of any vacant or abandoned building in the city to paint any plywood or other material used to board up the structure, and that painting must be done in a color and style that complements the building's existing appearance, not left as bare, unfinished board. This local requirement targets the visual blight of boarded-up buildings specifically, on top of whatever condemnation, repair, or demolition process the Building Commissioner pursues under the adopted state unsafe building law.

Because the underlying unsafe-building procedures come from IC 36-7-9 rather than city text, this page covers only the local text: the adoption itself, the fund, and the boarded-window painting duty; owners facing a substantive unsafe-building order should consult IC 36-7-9 directly for the notice, hearing, and demolition-lien procedures that statute sets out.