Highlands County, FL Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Declared nuisance
- Dilapidated or unsanitary building/structure
- Notice period
- 15 days to remedy before county acts
- Hearing right
- Owner may request board hearing in 15 days
- Abatement
- County or contractor fixes at owner's expense
- Lien interest
- 10% per year from 30 days after approval
- Foreclosure
- Available after 1 year, F.S. ch. 173
- Citation
- Highlands County Code §§ 5.6-2(4), 5.6-3
Summary
Highlands County Code § 5.6-2(4) declares any building or structure so dilapidated it is unfit for human habitation, unsanitary enough to menace neighbors' health, or an unusual fire hazard to be a public nuisance. The county can order it fixed or abated, then place a lien with interest against the property if the work goes unpaid.
The maintaining, using, placing, depositing, leaving or permitting to be or remain on any public or private property of any of the following items, conditions or actions is hereby declared to be and constitute a nuisance, provided that this enumeration shall not be construed as a designation of all nuisances: ... (4)Any building or other structure which is in such a dilapidated condition that it is unfit for human habitation or kept in such an unsanitary condition that it is a menace to the health of people residing in the vicinity thereof or presents a more than ordinary danger of fire hazard in the vicinity where it is located. ... It shall be unlawful for any person to create a nuisance or suffer or permit a nuisance to exist upon property which is under care, custody or control.
Full Breakdown
6-3 makes it unlawful for anyone to create or allow a nuisance to exist on property in their care, custody or control. 6-4 requires written notice to the record owner by certified mail (or, if that fails, personal service or posting), giving the owner 15 days to remedy the condition before the county acts. 6-5 lets the owner request a hearing before the board or its designee within that 15-day window to contest the finding. 6-6 authorizes the county or a contractor it hires to abate the nuisance at the owner's expense. ch. 173 after one year.
Violations & Fines
An owner who ignores the section 5.6-4 notice risks the county abating the dilapidated structure itself and recording the cost, plus administrative fees and ten percent annual interest under sections 5.6-7 and 5.6-8, as a lien against the property; that lien can be foreclosed after one year under Florida Statutes chapter 173. Because Articles I and III of Chapter 5.6 are also enforced through the Chapter 2 special magistrate process, a separate administrative fine can run alongside the abatement lien.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a building a 'nuisance' in Highlands County?
How much notice do I get before the county acts on a condemned building?
What happens if I never fix the building?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Highlands County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Highlands County to another location·View the Florida property maintenance overview
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