Lafayette, LA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Vacant lots/structures
- must be kept clean, safe, secure
- Unfit building
- official may placard for closure
- If owner fails to comply
- city closes it and bills owner
- Cost of city closure
- becomes a lien on the property
- Territorial reach
- city + unincorporated Lafayette Parish
- Enforced by
- Community Development & Planning Dept.
Summary
Lafayette's Property Maintenance Code, § 26-258, requires every vacant lot and vacant structure to stay clean, safe, and secure, and lets the building official placard and order the closure of any building found unfit for habitation. If the owner doesn't close it up in time, the city does it instead and puts the cost as a lien against the property.
All vacant land, including undeveloped land, and all lots, plots, or parcels of land containing vacant structures shall be maintained in a clean, safe, secure and sanitary condition as provided in this article so as not to adversely affect the public health or safety. In addition to any other remedy available and authorized by law, where the building official determines that a building or structure is vacant and unfit for human habitation and occupancy, the building official is authorized to post a placard on the building, structure, or premises ordering the building, structure, or premises closed up so as not to be an attractive nuisance. Upon failure of the owner to close up the building, structure, or premises within the time specified in the order, the building official shall cause the building, structure, or premises to be closed and secured through any available public agency or by contract or arrangement by private persons and the cost thereof shall be charged against the real estate upon which the building, structure, or premises is located and shall constitute a lien upon such real estate and shall be collected by any other legal resource.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 65).
Full Breakdown
Section 26-258 of the LCG Property Maintenance Code (adopted by Ordinance No. JO-095-2022) opens by requiring "all vacant land, including undeveloped land, and all lots, plots, or parcels of land containing vacant structures" to be maintained in a clean, safe, secure, and sanitary condition. " The owner gets a deadline in that order to comply; if the owner fails to act, the building official can have the property closed and secured through a public agency or a private contractor, and the cost becomes a lien against the real estate, collectible like any other legal debt.
The PMC applies throughout the City of Lafayette and unincorporated Lafayette Parish, since chapter 26's territorial-applicability section extends the whole chapter city- and parish-wide unless a specific article says otherwise. Separately, § 26-252(d) makes clear the PMC does not replace or cancel any other existing remedy for removing or demolishing a dangerous building under other local, state, or federal law, so the older dangerous-buildings condemnation process in article II remains available alongside this closure-and-lien tool. Enforcement runs through the community development and planning department's building official, with contested cases going to the administrative hearing officer created under chapter 26, article XVI.
Violations & Fines
Section 26-252(a) makes it "unlawful for any person...to be in conflict with or in violation of any of the provisions of the PMC." Beyond the lien the city can place for a closure it performs itself, a violation is also enforceable under the Code's general penalty, § 1-9: a fine of up to $500.00 or up to six months' imprisonment, or both, with each day of a continuing violation counted separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who enforces the Property Maintenance Code in Lafayette?
What if I don't close up a vacant building LCG has flagged?
Does this rule only apply inside Lafayette's city limits?
Can Lafayette still demolish a truly dangerous building under older rules?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lafayette
Compare Lafayette to another location·View the Louisiana property maintenance overview
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