Grand Forks, ND Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Grand Forks City Code section 10-0404 declares all substandard buildings and structures meeting the defects listed in section 10-0401 to be public nuisances that must be repaired, vacated or demolished as the article provides. The code enforcement officer investigates, and the city council holds a hearing, makes findings of fact, and issues an order under sections 10-0405 and 10-0406 directing the owner, occupant, mortgagee and lessee to act. An owner who does not appeal to district court within thirty days, or who loses that appeal, faces city-forced action: under section 10-0406 the City of Grand Forks itself repairs, vacates or demolishes the structure and charges the cost against the land through a special assessment or municipal lien, so the property owner ultimately pays for the city's remediation work regardless of whether they comply voluntarily.

Section 10-0407 backs the civil abatement process with a criminal penalty: an owner who fails to comply with a notice or order to repair, vacate or demolish is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 per offense, and every day after notice that noncompliance continues counts as a separate offense, so the exposure compounds daily. Occupants or lessees who fail to vacate or repair, and anyone who removes the code enforcement officer's posted substandard-building notice, face the same $500-per-offense misdemeanor exposure under subsections (2) and (3).