Jupiter, FL Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Section 13-41(a) declares a broad range of conditions to be nuisances when the building or planning department determines they threaten health, safety or welfare: decayed or decaying buildings, obstructions, ruins, and docks, walls or other structures in a dilapidated, falling or dangerous condition. A structure also qualifies as a nuisance if it isn't being used for its intended purpose, isn't habitable, its materials don't meet town code, or it no longer functions as originally built. Subsection (c)(2) adds an objective trigger for building exteriors: a nuisance exists once 20 percent or more of the total exterior surface, including walls, fascia, window and door frames, eaves, soffits, siding, stucco, awnings and carports, has blistered, peeling or missing paint, is rotted, or has mold or mildew, or when windows, screens, rails or stiles are missing, broken or deteriorated. Fences and freestanding walls face the same 20 percent standard for repainting and structural soundness.

Once the town identifies a violation, § 13-42 lets it prosecute the case before the special magistrate. If the magistrate finds the owner in violation, the town may correct or remove the nuisance itself and record a lien against the property to recover its costs. Chapter 13's general nuisance-removal process, described for overgrown and littered lots in § 13-10, layers on a $250.00 nonrefundable administrative charge, 14 days to pay after notice, and 12 percent annual interest on unpaid assessments, with the resulting lien enforceable in circuit court as a first lien equal to a property-tax lien.