Spokane Valley, WA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Enforcement authority
- City manager as 'improvement officer'
- Appeals body
- Hearing examiner ('appeals commission')
- Hearing timing
- 10 to 30 calendar days after complaint service
- Appeal deadline
- 30 calendar days from order service
- Governing chapter
- SVMC Chapter 17.105
Summary
Spokane Valley's city manager can declare a dwelling, building, structure, or premises unfit for human habitation or other use and order the owner to repair, vacate, or demolish it. The process runs through a formal complaint, hearing, and written order under SVMC Chapter 17.105.
Upon a determination that a dwelling, building, structure, or premises is unfit for human habitation or other use pursuant to SVMC § 17.105.030(B), the city manager shall make written findings of fact in support of such determination, and shall issue and cause to be served upon each owner and party in interest ... an order that: a. Requires the owner and other parties in interest, within the time specified in the order, to repair, alter, or improve such dwelling, building, structure, or premises to render it fit for human habitation or for other appropriate use, or to vacate, close, and secure the dwelling, building, structure, or premises ...; or b. Requires the owner and parties in interest, within the time specified in the order, to remove or demolish the dwelling, building, structure, or premises, if that course of action is deemed lawful and reasonable pursuant to SVMC § 17.105.040.
Full Breakdown
100. 030 starts with a written complaint served on all interested parties (personally, by certified mail, or by posting if the person cannot be located) and filed with the Spokane County auditor as a lis pendens. The complaint must set a hearing date no less than 10 and no more than 30 calendar days after service. 040. An order not appealed within 30 calendar days becomes final and is filed with the county auditor. 040 lists specific dangerous conditions justifying an unfitness finding, including exit ways too narrow or unsafe for fire escape, structural stress exceeding one and one-half times the working stress allowed under the Washington State Building Code, and wind-load resistance below half the code-required pressure.
Violations & Fines
An unfit-structure order can require repair, vacating, or demolition within the deadline set by the city manager, plus any penalties or remedies authorized under Chapter 17.105 or elsewhere in the code per § 17.105.030(C)(2). The City can board up or bar access to the structure pending abatement, may recover abatement costs, fees, and expenses as allowed by law, and an unappealed order becomes final 30 calendar days after service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides if a building in Spokane Valley is unfit for habitation?
What can the City order the owner of an unfit building to do?
How long do I have to appeal an unfit-building order?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Spokane Valley
Compare Spokane Valley to another location·View the Washington property maintenance overview
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