Riverside, CA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Chapter 6.15, Abatement of Public Nuisances, lists the conditions Riverside treats as blight in Section 6.15.020. Subsection E reaches 'any abandoned or discarded furniture, stove, refrigerator, freezer, sink, toilet, cabinet, or other household fixture or equipment visible from a public right-of-way.' Subsection H bars outdoor storage of ordinary indoor furniture on porches, yards, or decks, junk, salvage or construction materials not tied to an active permit, and 'any item causing an unsightly appearance which is visible from the public right-of-way or sites of neighboring properties.' Subsection I targets structures directly: 'any dangerous or substandard building, whether or not occupied, abandoned, boarded-up or partially destroyed contrary to the provisions of the Uniform Fire Code, Uniform Building Code, Uniform Housing Code, and/or Uniform Code for Abatement of Dangerous Buildings,' and subsection J adds peeling or blistering paint visible from the right-of-way.

Once the Code Enforcement Manager determines a nuisance exists under Section 6.15.025, the owner gets a written notice to abate with a compliance deadline and a right to appeal within ten days to a contracted Hearing Officer under Section 6.15.030. If the violator misses the deadline, Section 6.15.040 lets the City hire a contractor to abate the condition itself, and Section 6.15.050 turns the unpaid abatement cost into a special assessment lien recorded against the property, collected the same way as delinquent property taxes. Section 6.15.042 lets the prevailing party in an abatement proceeding recover attorneys' fees, and Section 6.15.043 authorizes a court to order treble damages against an owner found responsible for the same type of nuisance a second time within two years, apart from substandard-building abatements under Health and Safety Code Section 17980.