New Orleans runs an aggressive Code Enforcement / BlightStat program. Unoccupied property that is dilapidated, unsafe, unsanitary, or poorly maintained can be declared blighted or a public nuisance, adjudicated at a hearing, and hit with fines and property liens.
The Department of Code Enforcement inspects property against the Minimum Property Maintenance Code (City Code Ch. 26) and the blight/nuisance provisions (Ch. 28). Chronic vacancy or unresolved unsafe, unsanitary, or unhealthy conditions can lead to a declaration of blight. After a Notice of Violation, the owner gets a public hearing at the Code Enforcement Hearings Bureau; if found guilty, the city imposes fines, records a lien or assessment, and may abate the property (including boarding or demolition). BlightStat meetings track cases publicly, and BlightStatus lets residents follow a property's progress.
Adjudication hearing at the Code Enforcement Hearings Bureau; per-day fines, plus liens/assessments recorded against the property; unpaid amounts added to the tax bill; city may abate, board, or demolish.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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New Orleans has no ordinance banning home composting, so residents may compost yard and food scraps. Composting must not create odor, rodent, or nuisance con...
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New Orleans has no ordinance banning artificial turf in yards, but it counts as an impervious surface. Because CZO Article 23 protects permeable ground and r...
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New Orleans does not require homeowners to use native plants, but CZO Article 23 governs required landscaping for development and favors trees and green infr...
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Louisiana does not ban rainwater harvesting, so New Orleans residents may collect rain in barrels and cisterns. For larger projects, the CZO actually require...
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New Orleans does not impose routine day-of-week or odd/even lawn-watering restrictions. The Sewerage & Water Board supplies water and may issue temporary con...
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New Orleans requires owners to keep weeds and grass under 10 inches on their lot and the adjoining curb strip. Overgrown, blighted lots are enforced through ...
See how Orleans Parish's property blight rules stack up against other locations.
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