Montgomery County, MD Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Enforcing agency
- Dept. of Housing and Community Affairs
- Governing section
- County Code § 26-2, 26-9, 26-10
- Violation class
- Class A violation
- Civil penalty
- $500 first offense, $750 repeat
- Applies
- Countywide, including most municipalities
Summary
Montgomery County code makes it illegal to store trash, unused vehicles, scrap building material, or abandoned equipment where it's visible from the street or a neighbor's yard, and lets Housing and Community Affairs order an owner to clean it up as a public nuisance.
Visual blight: Keeping, storing, scattering over, or accumulating any of the following which can be viewed at ground level from a public right-of-way or from neighboring premises: (a) rubbish, lumber, packing materials, or building materials; (b) abandoned, discarded or unused object or equipment, including any furniture, appliance, can or container, automobile part or equipment; (c) abandoned, disabled, dismantled, or unused vehicle or part of a vehicle; or (d) pile of dirt, mulch, sand, gravel, concrete, or other similar construction materials.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-90: Montgomery County Code contains legislation effective through May 7, 2026 | Zoning Updated Effective: April 13, 2026 | COMCOR Regulations effective as of July 1, 2026).
Full Breakdown
Section 26-2 of the County Code defines 'visual blight' as keeping or accumulating rubbish, lumber, abandoned furniture or appliances, dismantled vehicles, or piles of dirt, mulch, sand, gravel, or concrete where it can be seen at ground level from a public right-of-way or neighboring premises. Under §§ 26-9(a)(12) and 26-10(f), an owner must eliminate any condition that creates a public nuisance after the Department of Housing and Community Affairs gives notice, and keep it from recurring. The rule reaches property inside incorporated municipalities too, enforced there by the local municipal agency where Chapter 26 applies.
Violations & Fines
Violating Chapter 26 is a Class A violation: up to $500 civil penalty for a first offense, $750 for a repeat, or a criminal fine up to $1,000 and 6 months in jail (§§ 26-16, 1-19).
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as visual blight under Montgomery County's code?
Who enforces the blighted-property rule?
What's the penalty for not cleaning up a cited property?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Montgomery County
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