Hanover County, VA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Notice-to-comply period
- 60 days from building official's notice
- Proximity trigger
- Within 50 ft of lot line or 1,000 ft of business/school
- Emergency authority notice
- 7 days before emergency repair/securing
- Unpaid costs
- Become a lien on the property
- Farm building exemption
- State-defined farm buildings excluded
Summary
Hanover County Code Section 6-51 requires owners to remove, repair or secure any building or structure that might endanger public health or safety within 60 days of notice from the building official that it has been found unsafe. If the owner fails to act, Section 6-52 lets the building official do the work and bill the owner.
The owners of property shall remove, repair or secure any building or other structure which might endanger the public health or safety of other residents of the county, within sixty (60) days of being provided notice that the building official has determined such building or other structure to be unsafe; provided, the provisions of this section shall not apply to a "farm building or structure" as that term is defined in the Code of Virginia. ... (a)If the owners of property on which an unsafe building or other structure is located have failed to remove, repair or secure such structure within sixty (60) days after notice from the building official, the building official may cause the building or other structure to be removed, repaired or secured. For the purposes of this section, repair may include maintenance work to the exterior of a building to prevent deterioration of the building or adjacent buildings.
Full Breakdown
Under Article IV of Chapter 6, Hanover County's building official designates a building or structure "unsafe" when it meets the Uniform Statewide Building Code's Part III definition of an "Unsafe Structure" or "Structure Unfit for Human Occupancy," per Section 6-54(a). Section 6-54(b) further limits routine enforcement to structures within 50 feet of a property line, lot line or right-of-way, within 1,000 feet of an operating business, or within 1,000 feet of a school, park or similar public-use area, unless the building official finds the structure is occupied or has created a public nuisance by attracting trespassers, in which case proximity does not matter.
Once notice issues under Section 6-53, which requires certified or registered mail plus publication once a week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation, the owner has 60 days under Section 6-51 to remove, repair or secure the structure; farm buildings or structures as defined by the Code of Virginia are exempt. If the owner misses the deadline, Section 6-52(a) authorizes the building official to remove, repair or secure the structure directly, and "repair" can include exterior maintenance work needed to stop deterioration of the structure or neighboring buildings.
Section 6-52(b) also lets the building official take emergency measures without waiting out the 60 days when a structure is an immediate danger to public health or safety, after giving the owner at least seven days' notice. 1, Chapter 39 of the Code of Virginia; the Board of Supervisors may waive such a lien only for an unrelated buyer to facilitate a sale.
Violations & Fines
Failure to comply within the 60-day notice period exposes the owner to county abatement action under Section 6-52, with the county's removal, repair or securing costs charged back to the owner and collectible like unpaid taxes under Section 6-55. Unpaid abatement charges become a lien on the property under Section 6-56, and Section 6-52(c) preserves the building official's separate authority to issue a Notice of Violation under the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a Hanover County property owner have to fix an unsafe building?
What happens if the owner does not act within 60 days?
Does every unsafe building in the county trigger enforcement?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hanover County
Compare Hanover County to another location·View the Virginia property maintenance overview
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