Medford, OR Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Order options
- Repair, board up, or demolish
- Stalled construction trigger
- 6+ months of no construction activity
- Derelict registration deadline
- 10 calendar days after notice
- Board-up limit
- 6 months without official's approval
- Max penalty
- $5,000, or $1,000/day continuing
Summary
When a Medford structure is so deteriorated, dilapidated, or out of repair that it's unsafe or unfit for occupancy, the code official can order the owner to repair and make it safe, board it up, or demolish and remove it. This dangerous-building authority sits in amended IPMC § 110.1, adopted at Medford Municipal Code § 9.901, alongside a separate derelict-structure registration scheme at §§ 9.906-9.908.
110.1 General. The code official shall order the owner of any premises upon which is located any structure, which in the code official's judgment after review is so deteriorated or dilapidated or has become so out of repair as to be dangerous, unsafe, insanitary or otherwise unfit for human habitation or occupancy, and such that it is unreasonable to repair the structure, to demolish and remove such structure; or if such structure is capable of being made safe by repairs, to repair and make safe and sanitary, or to board up and hold for future repair or to demolish and remove at the owner's option; or where there has been a cessation of normal construction of any structure for a period of more than six months, the code official shall order the owner to demolish and remove such structure, or board up until future repair. Boarding the building up for future repair shall not extend beyond six months, unless approved by the building official.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 2026-32, passed May 6, 2026).
Full Breakdown
1 to give Medford's code official broad remedial options for a dangerous building rather than a single mandated outcome: order the owner to demolish and remove a structure too deteriorated to reasonably repair; order repair and sanitizing if it can be made safe; or, at the owner's option, board it up and hold it for future repair or demolish and remove it. The same section reaches stalled construction: where normal construction has stopped for more than six months, the code official can order demolition and removal, or boarding up, and any board-up 'for future repair' cannot run longer than six months without the building official's approval. 908. 520.
Violations & Fines
Failing to comply with a code official's order under IPMC § 110.1, or leaving a structure derelict and unregistered under §§ 9.906-9.908, is enforced through the same civil penalty track as other Chapter 9 violations: a Notice of Civil Violation, then an administrative civil penalty of up to $5,000, or up to $1,000 per day for a continuing violation, under §§ 9.660-9.661, appealable to the Unified Board of Appeals within ten business days under § 9.662. The City may also secure a derelict structure itself and bill the owner.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Medford force a homeowner to demolish a dangerous building?
What counts as a 'derelict structure' in Medford?
What has to be in a derelict structure registration?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Medford
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