Loudoun County, VA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Notice-to-abate period
- up to 10 days
- Imminent-hazard cases
- immediate compliance required
- Unpaid abatement cost becomes
- a recorded property lien
- Hearing request window
- 10 days after notice
- Enforcing officials
- County Administrator, Director of Public Health
- Exempt zoning districts
- A-3 and A-10
Summary
Chapter 648 lets the County Administrator or the Director of Public Health order a property owner to abate any nuisance, from unsanitary trash and rodent harborage to a dangerously dilapidated structure, within 10 days, and if the owner doesn't comply the county can fix it and place a lien on the property for the cost.
“Nuisance” means anything unwholesome, dangerous, offensive or unhealthy, which constitutes a menace to the health and safety of the public, or any structure which, due to a structural defect or dilapidation, has become dangerous to life or property. ... No person shall cause, harbor, commit or maintain, or suffer to be caused, harbored, committed or maintained, any nuisance, as defined by the statutes or common law of this State or as defined by this chapter or any other ordinance of the Board of Supervisors, at any place within the County.
Full Breakdown
03(g) defines "nuisance" broadly as anything unwholesome, dangerous, offensive or unhealthy that menaces public health or safety, or any structure that, due to structural defect or dilapidation, has become dangerous to life or property, and lists examples including unsanitary trash or construction-waste disposal, unburied dead animals, standing water breeding mosquitoes, rodent or insect infestations, accumulations of bees, wasps or bats, hazards like open excavations or unsecured vacant structures, bird infestations with heavy droppings, and conditions conducive to rodent harborage that annoy neighbors. 04 makes it unlawful to cause, harbor or maintain any such nuisance.
06. 07, a written notice to the owner sets a compliance deadline of no more than 10 days, or immediate compliance if the condition is an imminent hazard; the owner may request a hearing within 10 days, which the County Administrator must schedule within 10 days of the request. 08 lets the county perform the abatement itself, charge the cost to the owner collected like county taxes, and record it as a lien in the Circuit Court Clerk's judgment lien docket; abatement doesn't bar separate prosecution. 13 exempts land in the county's A-3 or A-10 zoning districts entirely.
Violations & Fines
Failing to remedy a cited nuisance within the notice period, up to 10 days, or immediately for an imminent hazard, lets the county abate it directly and bill the owner, with unpaid costs becoming a recorded lien against the property in the Circuit Court Clerk's judgment lien docket. Abatement by the county doesn't bar separate prosecution for maintaining the nuisance under 648.04.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a nuisance under Loudoun County's property code?
How much time do I get to fix a cited property nuisance?
What happens if I ignore the county's abatement notice?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Loudoun County
Compare Loudoun County to another location·View the Virginia property maintenance overview
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