Richland, WA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Nuisance trigger
- Fire, decay, or deterioration endangering safety
- Governing track
- RMC Title 21 per § 10.04.110
- Minimum fine
- $250.00 civil infraction, RMC § 21.01.050
- City correction window
- 10 days after notice, § 10.04.090
- Emergency power
- Immediate correction without notice if imminent danger
Summary
In the City of Richland, Washington, a building or fence that has been damaged by fire, decay, or deterioration to the point of endangering public safety is a declared public nuisance under Richland Municipal Code § 10.04.040(D), and dangerous-building cases are processed under RMC Title 21 per § 10.04.110. The city can correct the hazard itself and bill the owner.
D. All buildings, other structures, or portions thereof which have been damaged by fire, decay, or have otherwise deteriorated so as to endanger the safety of the public and the existence of any fence, other structure, or thing on private or public property abutting or fronting upon any public street, public sidewalk, or public place, which is sagging, leaning, fallen, decayed, or is otherwise dilapidated and creating an unsafe condition, which shall include any interior walls or other vertical structural members which list, lean or buckle to such an extent that a plumbline passing through the center of gravity falls outside the middle third of its base; ... Considerations involving dangerous buildings shall be processed according to RMC Title 21 as it now exists or may be amended in the future.
Full Breakdown
Richland Municipal Code § 10.04.040(D) declares a nuisance out of any building, other structure, or portion of one that has been damaged by fire, decay, or has otherwise deteriorated so as to endanger public safety, and it extends the same standard to any fence or structure abutting or fronting a public street, sidewalk, or place that is sagging, leaning, fallen, decayed, or otherwise dilapidated and unsafe, including interior walls or vertical structural members that lean or buckle far enough that a plumbline through the center of gravity falls outside the middle third of the structure's base.
Section 10.04.110 directs that considerations involving dangerous buildings be processed according to RMC Title 21, tying the nuisance declaration to the building code enforcement track, where under § 21.01.050 a violation is a civil infraction fined not less than $250.00 or, where the violation is not correctable through a permit, a criminal misdemeanor under § 9.02.020(C). Under the general nuisance procedure, Development Services first seeks voluntary correction under § 10.02.040; if the responsible person does not act, § 10.04.090 lets the city itself correct the dangerous condition 10 days after notice, with the cost becoming a civil debt against the owner, and § 10.04.100 allows the compliance officer to act immediately and without notice if the building poses an imminent danger to public health or safety.
Violations & Fines
A dilapidated or fire-damaged building or fence that endangers the public is enforced first through a voluntary correction request; a Title 21 violation carries a civil infraction fine of not less than $250.00 or, where not correctable by permit, a criminal misdemeanor under § 9.02.020(C). If the owner does not act within 10 days of notice under § 10.04.090, the city can correct the condition itself and bill the cost as a civil debt, or act immediately under § 10.04.100 if the danger is imminent.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a building 'dangerous' under Richland's code?
What happens if I don't fix a dangerous building after a notice?
Can the city act immediately without waiting 10 days?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Richland
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