Puyallup, WA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Enforcing officer
- Director of development and permitting services
- Hearing notice
- 10 to 30 days before hearing
- Appeal window
- 30 days to hearing examiner
- First offense
- Misdemeanor, up to $1,000 fine, 90 days jail
- Continuing violation
- Gross misdemeanor, up to $5,000, 364 days
- Cost recovery
- Lien equal rank with property taxes
Summary
Puyallup's public officer, the director of development and permitting services, can declare a decayed, fire-damaged, dangerous or otherwise unsafe building a public nuisance under PMC § 6.07.030 and order it repaired, vacated or demolished. Knowingly defying a final order is a misdemeanor punishable by up to $1,000 and 90 days in jail, escalating to a gross misdemeanor for continued noncompliance.
All buildings or structures in the city which by reason of decay, dilapidation, or damage by fire, the elements or any other cause, are now or hereafter shall become, in the judgment of the public officer, dangerous to the lives and safety of persons or property or unsafe or unfit for the purpose or purposes for which they are being used, unsafe or unfit structures and premises as defined in this chapter are declared to be public nuisances. ... A violation of this section is a misdemeanor and may be punished by a fine not to exceed $1,000 and/or jail confinement of not more than 90 days. Each day of violation shall constitute a separate offense. In the event of continuing violation or failure to comply, the second and subsequent days shall constitute a gross misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not to exceed $5,000 and/or imprisonment for not more than 364 days or both such fine and imprisonment.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4985225; v6 updated 2026-07-21; through 07-21-2026).
Full Breakdown
Adopted under RCW 35.80.030, Chapter 6.07 targets dwellings unfit for habitation and buildings unfit for other uses because of dilapidation, structural defects, fire hazards, unsanitary conditions or abandonment (§ 6.07.010). The public officer may enter and inspect a property on reasonable grounds (§ 6.07.040), and if a preliminary investigation finds a structure unsafe or unfit, the officer serves a complaint on every interested party, posts it on the property, and files a copy with the Pierce County auditor as a lis pendens notice; a hearing must be set no less than 10 and no more than 30 days later (§ 6.07.050).
Whether to order repair or demolition turns on specific structural tests, including whether a vertical member's plumb line falls outside the middle third of its base, whether a third or more of supporting members are damaged, or whether repair costs exceed 50 percent of the structure's value, or 30 percent for fire-damaged structures vacant six months or longer (§ 6.07.060). Following the hearing, the officer issues a written order to repair, vacate or demolish within a specified time (§ 6.07.070). The owner has 30 days to appeal to the code compliance hearing examiner, who must resolve the matter within 60 days; a further appeal for injunctive relief runs to Pierce County superior court within 30 days of the examiner's decision, reviewed de novo (§ 6.07.080).
Once appeal rights are exhausted, the public officer can carry out the repair, removal or demolition directly and spend public funds to do it (§ 6.07.090), and the resulting cost becomes a lien on the property ranking equally with city, county and state taxes, collected through the county tax rolls (§ 6.07.100).
Violations & Fines
It is unlawful to knowingly occupy a building ordered vacated, fail to comply with any order issued under this chapter, or obstruct or give false information to a city officer enforcing it. A first violation is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $1,000 and up to 90 days in jail, with each day a separate offense; the second and later days of a continuing violation become a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to $5,000 and up to 364 days in jail, or both (PMC § 6.07.150).
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides if a Puyallup building is unfit and dangerous?
What happens if I ignore an order to fix or vacate my Puyallup property?
Can I appeal a demolition order in Puyallup?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Puyallup
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How other cities in this county handle property blight.