Montgomery, AL Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Enforcing office
- Inspections Dept. Property Maintenance Division
- Adopted code
- Intl. Property Maintenance Code 2024
- Board-up material
- 1/2-inch CDX plywood or OSB
- Cost recovery
- Lien on the real estate
- Emergency demolition authority
- Mayor, under Code of Ala. § 11-53B-15
Summary
Montgomery, Alabama's Inspections Department Property Maintenance Division enforces the adopted Property Maintenance Code against vacant, unfit or dangerous structures, with authority to board them up, disconnect utilities, and bill the owner's real estate for the cost.
103.1 Creation of agency. The City of Montgomery Inspections Department - Property Maintenance Division is hereby created and the official in charge thereof shall be known as the code official... 109.2 Closing of vacant structures. If the structure is vacant and unfit for human habitation and occupancy, and is not in danger of structural collapse, the code official is authorized to post a placard of condemnation on the premises and order the structure closed up so as not to be an attractive nuisance. Upon failure of the owner... to close up the premises within the time specified in the order, the code official shall cause the premises to be closed and secured... and the cost thereof shall be charged against the real estate... and shall be a lien upon such real estate
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 27).
Full Breakdown
City Code Sec. 1, the City of Montgomery Inspections Department - Property Maintenance Division, headed by a code official responsible for implementing, administering and enforcing the code citywide. 2 lets the code official post a placard of condemnation and order it closed up so it is not an attractive nuisance; if the owner fails to secure the premises within the ordered time, the city can close and secure it through a public agency or private contract and charge the cost against the real estate as a lien collectible by any legal means.
The written procedures call for disconnecting utilities, clearing combustible debris from every level including the attic, confirming the building is unoccupied, and sheeting every opening with 1/2-inch CDX plywood or OSB attached with corrosion-resistant fasteners spaced no more than 12 inches apart. § 11-53B-5, -6. 2.
Violations & Fines
Failure to comply with a closure or repair order lets the city secure or demolish the structure itself and place the full cost as a lien on the property, collectible like any other debt against the real estate. Imminent-danger demolitions ordered by the mayor under Code of Ala. § 11-53B-15 have their cost fixed by the city council and assessed against the owner under § 11-53B-5/-6.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who enforces blighted-property rules in Montgomery, Alabama?
Can the city board up my vacant building without demolishing it?
Who pays if the city has to secure or demolish a dangerous building?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Montgomery
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