Hackensack, NJ Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Section 44-33 finds that unfit buildings in Hackensack, those unsafe due to dilapidation, fire hazards, inadequate ventilation, light or sanitary facilities, or other dangerous conditions, breed vermin and crime, depress neighboring property values and insurability, and undermine redevelopment. A. 12. Section 44-35 designates the Construction Code Official as public officer, empowered to investigate building conditions, administer oaths, examine witnesses, enter premises for inspection, and delegate authority to agents. Proceedings under § 44-36 start either by petition from a public authority or at least five City residents, or on the official's own initiative; after a preliminary investigation the official serves a complaint and schedules a hearing between seven and thirty days later, with owners entitled to answer and appear.

Complaints and orders are served personally or by registered mail under § 44-37, with newspaper publication and Bergen County Clerk recording as backup. At the § 44-38 hearing the owner may testify, produce evidence, and be represented by counsel; if the official finds the building unfit, he issues a written order either requiring repair to render it fit for occupancy, or, if repair costs exceed the building's value, requiring removal or demolition. Owners who ignore a repair order face the building being vacated and closed with a posted placard reading it is unfit for habitation (§ 44-39); owners who ignore a demolition order face City-ordered removal or demolition, with materials sold to offset costs (§ 44-40). Section 44-43 lets the official act on an emergency, structurally unsafe, fire-damaged building through summary demolition proceedings after making it temporarily safe.