Grand Rapids, MI Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Compliance deadline
- Up to 60 days
- Hearing required
- Yes, before condemnation
- Emergency action
- No hearing if safety demands
- Cost recovery
- Billed to owner, lien
Summary
Grand Rapids bars owners from maintaining any structure that is unsafe or a menace to public health or safety, and lets the City Commission condemn it and order repair, teardown or removal within 60 days.
No person shall maintain any structure which is unsafe or which is a menace to the health or safety of the public.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 70).
Full Breakdown
Section 9.11 makes it unlawful to maintain any structure that is unsafe or a menace to public health or safety. Under Section 9.12, the City Commission can hold a hearing and condemn a dangerous structure, ordering the owner to alter, repair, tear down or remove it within a reasonable time not exceeding 60 days. If the owner misses that deadline, Section 9.13 lets the City Manager carry out the work and bill the owner; Section 9.14 allows emergency abatement without a Commission hearing when public safety demands immediate action, with costs still charged against the property.
Violations & Fines
Noncompliance lets the City Manager perform the repair or demolition itself and charge the full cost against the owner and the property under §§ 9.13-9.14.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides a building is 'dangerous' in Grand Rapids?
Can the city act before a hearing?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Grand Rapids
Compare Grand Rapids to another location·View the Michigan property maintenance overview
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Property Blight in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Kent County handle property blight.