Gretna, LA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Section 24-56 lists three ways a property becomes an unlawful nuisance: producing noxious odors, being kept in a condition detrimental to the health of owners, occupants, neighbors or the public, or being neglected so that the failure to maintain or repair the building will result in its demolition or deterioration over time through weather exposure or similar factors. Once the department of inspections issues notice, the property owner has ten days to correct the condition under § 24-56(d). Enforcement is fast-tracked: under § 24-54, once a citation issues for a § 24-56 violation, the code enforcement official must set arraignment on the next available Mayor's Court date, keeping a list of available dates up to 60 days out, with trial set no later than 14 days after arraignment.

Section 24-55 layers on a building-permit-based path: if a nuisance citation involves a structure, correction work must begin within ten days of a building permit issued to fix the violation, and the mayor or city council may revoke that permit if work has not commenced after the ten days lapse, with notice of any revocation given under § 2-1. This structure ties blight abatement to both the general nuisance provisions of Article III and the city's building-permit process, so a property owner facing a § 24-56 citation for a deteriorating structure is also working against the ten-day permit-commencement clock in § 24-55.