Howard County, IN Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Enforcement authority
- Plan Commission Executive Director
- Hearing authority
- named by Commissioners, I.C. 36-7-9-2
- State law adopted
- I.C. 36-7-9-1 et seq.
- Abandonment threshold
- over 6 months = unsafe
- Penalty
- up to $2,500 per day, § 10.99
Summary
Unincorporated Howard County enforces Indiana's Unsafe Building Law, I.C. 36-7-9-1 et seq., adopted in full by § 150.09. The Howard County Plan Commission is the executive department and its Executive Director is the enforcement authority for buildings that endanger life, health, property or public safety, including structures left standing or abandoned more than six months.
(A) Adoption of state law; application. The provisions of I.C. 36-7-9-1 et seq. (the Act), concerning the enforcement of building standards, is hereby adopted in their entirety, and as they may be subsequently amended, and are made a part hereof by reference the same as if fully set out herein. As so adopted, the Act shall apply and be enforceable in the unincorporated area of the county. ... UNSAFE BUILDING. ... Any building or structure which has any or all of the conditions or defects hereinafter described shall be deemed to be an UNSAFE BUILDING; provided, that such conditions or defects exist to the extent that life, health, property or safety of the public or its occupants are endangered. ... (2) Whenever any portion of a building or structure remains on a site after the demolition or destruction of the building or structure or whenever any building or structure is abandoned for a period in excess of six months so as to constitute such building or portion thereof an attractive nuisance or hazard to the public.
Full Breakdown
C. , in its entirety as county ordinance and applies it throughout the unincorporated area. The ordinance designates the Howard County Plan Commission as the executive department authorized to administer the Act, and names the Executive Director of the Plan Commission as the enforcement authority who acts on unsafe-building matters. C. 36-7-9-2, and the ordinance incorporates the Act's SUBSTANTIAL PROPERTY INTEREST definition by reference for standing to appear before that hearing authority. C. 09(B) adds two local grounds: a building or structure that has been constructed, exists, or is maintained in violation of the county's own building regulations, state law, or a county ordinance governing the condition, location, or structure of buildings; and any building or structure, or remnant of one, left standing after demolition or destruction, or abandoned for more than six months, so that it becomes an attractive nuisance or hazard to the public. Either condition, if it endangers the life, health, property or safety of the public or occupants, supports enforcement action under the adopted Act.
Violations & Fines
A finding of an unsafe building under the adopted I.C. 36-7-9 procedure can lead to orders to repair, vacate or demolish the structure, issued by the hearing authority designated by the Board of County Commissioners. Violations of § 150.09 are punishable under the county's general penalty, § 10.99, up to $2,500, with each day of continuing violation treated as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides if a building is unsafe in unincorporated Howard County?
Can a vacant, abandoned building be declared unsafe even if it is not damaged?
What law governs the unsafe-building process here?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Howard County
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