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Madera County, CA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Significant Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Registration deadline
10 days after property found vacant
Registration fee
Annual, due January 1st
Neighborhood standard radius
300 feet
Required sign size
At least 18 by 24 inches
Notice period
30 days under Civil Code § 2929.3
Daily fine after notice
Up to $1,000 per day
Enforcing agency
Planning department code enforcement division

Summary

Unincorporated Madera County requires beneficiaries and trustees to register, secure, and maintain abandoned or distressed residential property once a borrower defaults, and Madera County Code § 7.40.080 puts the planning department's code enforcement division in charge of prosecuting violations, treating every uncorrected day as its own offense and allowing fines up to $1,000 per day.

City-specific rules exist: Madera has its own property blight rules that differ from Madera County's county-level regulations. If you live in Madera, check the city-specific page instead.

The Madera County planning department's and its code enforcement division shall share the primary responsibility for enforcing this chapter. In addition to any other remedies provided by law, violations shall be prosecuted as described in Madera County Code Chapter 8.01. Each day a violation is committed or permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense and shall be punishable as such. Violations of this chapter shall be treated as a strict liability offense regardless of intent. The county may, at its option, pursuant to California Civil Code Section 2929.3, issue a thirty-day notice of violation to the property owner. In the event a thirty-day notice is issued, a fine of not more than one thousand dollars may be imposed for each day the violation(s) are not corrected.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 52).

Full Breakdown

40, adopted by Ordinance No. 030 as property in default under a notice of default, notice of trustee's sale, pending tax lien sale, or already foreclosed or transferred by deed in lieu of foreclosure. 040 requires the beneficiary or trustee holding the deed of trust to inspect the property upon the borrower's default and, if it is vacant or shows 'evidence of vacancy,' such as dead vegetation, dry brush, weeds, accumulated mail, disconnected utilities, or discarded furniture, to register it with the planning department's code enforcement division within ten days, paying an annual fee the board of supervisors sets by resolution, due each January 1st.

050 requires abandoned properties to be kept to the 'neighborhood standard,' defined as conditions present on a majority of properties within a three hundred foot radius, free of graffiti, with front and side yard landscaping maintained, and pools either kept clear and fenced or drained. 070 requires an eighteen-by-twenty-four-inch sign posted with the property management company's twenty-four-hour contact number. 01, treats each day of a continuing violation as a separate offense, and makes violations strict-liability, so intent is not a defense. 3, the county may issue a thirty-day notice of violation, after which an uncorrected violation can draw a fine of up to $1,000 per day.

Violations & Fines

Every day a violation of Chapter 7.40 continues is its own separate offense, and liability is strict, meaning a lack of intent is no defense. The county may issue a thirty-day notice of violation under California Civil Code § 2929.3; once that period runs, an uncorrected violation can draw a fine of up to $1,000 for each additional day, on top of any other remedy available under Chapter 8.01 or state law.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who has to register an abandoned property in Madera County?
The beneficiary or trustee holding the deed of trust must inspect the property once the borrower defaults, and if it is vacant or shows evidence of vacancy, register it with the Madera County planning department's code enforcement division within ten days, per § 7.40.040. A distressed but occupied property must instead be inspected monthly until it is remedied or found vacant.
What is the 'neighborhood standard' the property must be kept to?
Section 7.40.030 defines it as the conditions present on a simple majority of properties within a three hundred foot radius of the abandoned property, excluding that property itself and any other abandoned property in the radius. Section 7.40.050 requires maintenance to that standard, including landscaping, freedom from graffiti, and pool upkeep or draining.
What happens if a beneficiary or trustee ignores the registration and maintenance rules?
Madera County's planning department and code enforcement division prosecute violations under Chapter 8.01, with every day of noncompliance a separate, strict-liability offense. The county can issue a thirty-day notice of violation under Civil Code § 2929.3, and once that period passes, an uncorrected violation can be fined up to $1,000 per day.
Does this rule apply to properties inside the city of Madera or Chowchilla?
No. Chapter 7.40 defines covered 'residential property' as property 'situated in the unincorporated territory of the county of Madera,' so it governs only unincorporated areas of the county; the incorporated cities of Madera and Chowchilla enforce their own separate vacant and distressed property ordinances.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Madera County

All Madera County rules

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