San Mateo County, CA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Enforcing agency
- Planning & Building Code Compliance Section
- Abatement cure period
- 10 days from Notice and Order to Abate
- Cost recovery
- Actual abatement costs plus 15% admin fee
- Nuisance appeals
- Heard by the Board of Supervisors
- Applies to
- Unincorporated areas only
- Report violations
- (650) 363-4825 / codecomplaint@smcgov.org
Summary
In unincorporated San Mateo County, the Planning and Building Code Compliance Section enforces property-maintenance standards and abates public nuisances such as accumulated refuse, junk, and deteriorated structures. When a nuisance is confirmed, the owner gets a Notice and Order to Abate with 10 days to correct; if ignored, the County abates and bills actual costs plus 15%.
22660. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a city, county, or city and county may adopt an ordinance establishing procedures for the abatement and removal, as public nuisances, of abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicles or parts thereof from private or public property, and for the recovery, pursuant to Section 25845 or 38773.5 of the Government Code, or assumption by the local authority, of costs of administration and the removal. (Amended by Stats. 1988, Ch. 126, Sec. 1.) <input type="hidden" name="javax.faces.ViewState" id="j_id1:javax.faces.ViewState:7" value="JqPZzCBJmbNDVIFnOzPpmRHxpcEI5Fl96QswUNWWn0A4KDfwj6izdM2hQeFliO+ei4vy0m4QiecC/EUB95B4JJAM0FOJ0N1vXalQF2MKoT
Full Breakdown
San Mateo County's Code Compliance Section (Planning and Building Department) enforces zoning, building, and other land-use regulations and addresses public nuisances created by a lack of property maintenance throughout the unincorporated area. The County describes a public nuisance using examples such as an abandoned car or a large amount of refuse collecting in a yard. The County's Notice of Violation forms apply property-maintenance standards drawn from the International Property Maintenance Code, including a requirement that accessory structures such as detached garages, fences, and walls be maintained in good repair and in a structurally sound condition.
The abatement process begins when the Code Enforcement Unit issues either a Notice of Code Violation or a Notice and Order to Abate. For a public nuisance, the person receiving the order has 10 days to correct the situation; if it is not corrected, the County may step in (for example, towing a vehicle or removing refuse) and bill the property owner for actual costs plus a 15% administrative fee. Abatement orders may be appealed by filing a written request for a hearing with the County officer who ordered the abatement; the Board of Supervisors hears appeals involving nuisances, while a separate Abandoned Vehicle Hearing Officer hears vehicle appeals. Zoning-regulation violations cannot be appealed. Code Compliance works cooperatively with owners first and reserves citations, fines, and abatement for cases where voluntary compliance fails.
Violations & Fines
Accumulating refuse or junk visible from a yard, allowing structures to deteriorate, or failing to maintain accessory structures can trigger a Notice and Order to Abate. After a 10-day cure period, the County may abate the condition and bill actual costs plus a 15% administrative fee, and may issue citations or levy fines for continued non-compliance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who handles blight complaints in unincorporated San Mateo County?
What happens if I do not clean up a nuisance after being notified?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Mateo County
California rules heatmap·Compare San Mateo County to another location·View the California property maintenance overview
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