Port Orange, FL Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Minimum compliance period
- 30 days from order
- Inspection fee, principal structures
- $50.00 per inspection
- Inspection fee, accessory structures
- $25.00 per inspection
- Inspection interval
- Every 30 days
- Appeal deadline
- 30 days to circuit court
- Emergency demolition
- Allowed without hearing, imminent danger
Summary
Port Orange treats a structurally unsafe building as a public nuisance under Section 42-108, and once the special magistrate confirms the danger, Section 42-111(b) lets the city order the owner to secure, repair, or demolish it within no less than 30 days, with the city able to step in and bill the owner if the deadline is missed.
(b)A structure that is unsafe constitutes a nuisance. No person shall permit an unsafe structure to exist on property under his or her ownership or control. ... Upon substantial competent evidence, the special magistrate may render his or her order requiring the owner to secure and repair, or cause to be demolished, the structure(s) which have been established as unsafe within a reasonable period of time not less than 30 days from the date of the order, and provide authority for the city to take the necessary steps to abate the condition(s) in the event the owner fails to do so and charging all expenses of the abatement against the property in accordance with this division. ... inspections shall be conducted no less frequently than at 30-day intervals and the following fee collected in the manner provided by this division for each and every inspection conducted.(1)Residential, commercial, institutional and industrial structures, per structure: $50.00.(2)Other structures (detached garages, accessory buildings, etc.), per structure: $25.00.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 43 | Land Development Code: Supplement 38).
Full Breakdown
Division 3 of Chapter 42 defines an unsafe structure broadly: a building whose walls or structural members lean, buckle, or are damaged enough that they might fall; one with an overloaded or insufficiently strong floor or roof; a fire- or wind-damaged structure dangerous to occupants; a dwelling so dilapidated it is unfit for habitation; or a vacant building not secured against trespassers. Section 42-108(b) declares that any structure meeting those conditions constitutes a nuisance, and no owner may permit one to exist. The building official inspects and can hire outside engineers or architects to confirm the condition.
Once notice and a hearing before the special magistrate establish that a structure is unsafe, Section 42-111(b) authorizes an order requiring the owner to secure and repair it, or demolish it, within a reasonable period that cannot be less than 30 days from the order, and it lets the city carry out the work itself and charge the owner if the owner does not comply. 00 per structure for detached garages and other accessory buildings under Section 42-111(c). 03, enforceable a year after recording like any other municipal lien.
Violations & Fines
Failure to comply with a secure-and-repair or demolition order lets the city perform the work itself and assess every cost, including attorney's fees, as a lien against the property under Section 42-114. In an emergency posing imminent danger, Section 42-115 lets the city manager order immediate demolition without waiting for the standard hearing process. An aggrieved owner can appeal a special magistrate's order to the Volusia County circuit court, but the appeal must be filed within 30 days of the order under Section 42-112.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a building 'unsafe' under Port Orange's code?
How much time does an owner get to fix or demolish an unsafe structure?
Can the city skip the hearing and demolish immediately?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Port Orange
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Property Blight in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Volusia County handle property blight.