James City County, VA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Section 4-76 lets the board of supervisors, building official, or fire official require removal, repair, or securing of any dangerous building, wall, or structure on private property. Once that finding is made, the county must serve notice on the owner and any recorded lien holder, combining a certified or registered letter to the owner's last known address with publication once a week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation. No county action to remove, repair, or secure the structure can happen for at least 30 days after the later of the return receipt or the final publication, except that the county may act within seven days solely to block unauthorized access if the notice states the structure poses a significant safety threat.

The 30-day clock for the owner to act runs from that same later date, and repair under this section can include exterior maintenance work meant to stop deterioration of the building or adjacent buildings. If the owner does nothing within 30 days, the board of supervisors, building official, or fire official may step in and remove, repair, or secure the structure directly, and every dollar spent becomes chargeable to the owner and collectible the same way as unpaid local taxes. 1, though the county may waive the lien to help a sale go through to a buyer unrelated to the owner by blood, marriage, or business dealings.

That personal obligation to pay follows the owner even after any lien waiver. This unsafe-buildings framework sits in chapter 4's article VII, separate from the routine trash, weeds, and clutter maintenance duties that chapter 10 imposes on every property owner.