Orlando, FL Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

16, 'Public Nuisances,' gives the code official or a designee, and the Code Enforcement Board, authority to act once nuisance conditions or hazards 'degenerate or cumulatively impact on structures, dwellings, or other buildings' to the point that repair, removal, securing, vacating, or demolition becomes necessary for public health, safety and welfare, ordering the property owner or City agents to take that action under the article's procedures. The code declares these powers 'remedial and essential for the public interest' and directs they be liberally construed. Article II's nuisance definition backing this section is broad: it covers attractive nuisances such as abandoned wells, iceboxes, refrigerators, abandoned vehicles, and structurally unsound fences; physical or unsanitary conditions dangerous to life or health; cumulative major and minor Code violations that endanger occupants or passersby; and fire hazards.

17 routes major-violation procedure through Chapter 5, letting the enforcement officer warn owners that uncured major violations may trigger further Board action. 18 governs vacating a structure declared unfit for occupancy. 20 sets out the demolition track: where a property's history shows unsecured dangerous conditions, owner failure to control the property, or repeated criminal activity tied to dilapidation despite enforcement efforts, the code official proceeds with a Notice to Vacate, serves notice on the owner and any mortgage or lienholders of record, and presents evidence at a Code Enforcement Board hearing, which can order demolition with costs assessed as a lien on the property.

21 lets the Building Official, code official, or fire official act immediately, without prior notice, when extreme life-safety hazards demand emergency repairs, disconnection of utilities, or closure, with notice and a 30-day appeal right following after the fact.