Putnam County, FL Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Putnam County Code § 8-186(a) declares a building or portion of one a 'substandard building' if it has any of a dozen listed defects: inadequate sanitation, structural hazards such as deteriorated foundations or buckling wall supports, hazardous electrical wiring, hazardous plumbing, hazardous mechanical equipment, faulty weather protection such as crumbling plaster or broken windows, fire hazards, faulty construction materials, an unsafe or dangerous condition under Sec. 8-188, inadequate exits, or inadequate fire protection. Once a building meets any of those tests, Sec. 8-177 declares it, and the nuisance it creates, a public nuisance outright, and requires it to be abated by repair, demolition or removal following the procedures in Article VI of Chapter 8.

Enforcement runs through the manager of codes enforcement in the department of planning and development services, who under Sec. 8-189 may inspect the property with the owner's consent or an administrative search warrant, and any resulting compliance order goes before the special magistrate. If an owner cited for a violation sells or transfers the property, Sec. 8-193 requires the owner to tell the buyer that an enforcement action is pending and to give the codes enforcement manager the buyer's name and mailing address. Appeals of a special magistrate's decision go to the circuit court and must be filed within 30 days of the order under Sec. 8-190, and the most restrictive standard controls whenever this article conflicts with another county code provision, per Secs. 8-192 and 8-195.