Guadalupe County, TX Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Tool
- Nuisance abatement, not zoning
- Covers
- Junk, rubbish, unsafe buildings
- Junked Vehicles
- Transp. Code Ch. 683
- Notice
- 30 days to abate
- Statute
- Tex. H&S §343.011
Summary
Guadalupe County cannot zone, so its main blight tool outside city limits is nuisance abatement. Accumulated rubbish, abandoned vehicles, and dilapidated buildings are public nuisances under Tex. Health & Safety Code §343.011, with junked vehicles separately covered by Transportation Code Ch. 683.
(a) This section applies only to the unincorporated area of a county. (b) A person may not cause, permit, or allow a public nuisance under this section. (c) A public nuisance is: ... (2) keeping, storing, or accumulating rubbish, including newspapers, abandoned vehicles, refrigerators, stoves, furniture, tires, and cans, on premises in a neighborhood or within 300 feet of a public street for 10 days or more, unless the rubbish or object is completely enclosed in a building or is not visible from a public street; ... (5) maintaining a building in a manner that is structurally unsafe or constitutes a hazard to safety, health, or public welfare because of inadequate maintenance, unsanitary conditions, dilapidation, obsolescence, disaster, damage, or abandonment or because it constitutes a fire hazard
Full Breakdown
Chapter 343 gives Guadalupe County its primary code-enforcement lever, since counties have no zoning or general property-maintenance code. Tex. Health & Safety Code §343.011 declares a public nuisance to include accumulating rubbish such as abandoned vehicles, refrigerators, stoves, furniture, and tires visible from a public street for 10 days or more, and maintaining a structurally unsafe or dilapidated building. The county gives written notice; if the nuisance is not abated within 30 days, §343.012 sets a $50 to $200 fine, each day a separate offense, and the county may abate and lien the property. A junked, inoperable vehicle is defined in Transportation Code §683.071 and declared a nuisance the Commissioners Court can abate under §683.072.
Violations & Fines
Abandoned vehicles, rubbish piles, and dilapidated structures are nuisances. After a 30-day notice, fines run $50 to $200 per day, rising to $200 to $1,000 for repeat offenders, plus county abatement and a lien.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Guadalupe County make a neighbor clean up junk?
What about an inoperable junked car in a yard?
Does this apply inside city limits?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Guadalupe County
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Guadalupe County to another location·View the Texas property maintenance overview
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