Tallahassee, FL Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

LDC § 3-542 declares Article X remedial to protect public health, welfare and safety, and § 3-543 gives the enforcement official and code enforcement board the authority to act, including a right of entry immune from trespass claims. Under § 3-543(d), if a building fails the article's standards, the enforcement official may order repair, restoration or replacement, but only where the cost will not exceed 50 percent of the building's assessed value; anything above that threshold is instead evaluated under the demolition provisions. If the owner defaults on an ordered repair, the enforcement official can recommend the code enforcement board order the building demolished.

Section 3-543(e) lets the official order a building vacated once it is designated unfit for habitation, and § 3-543(f) sets the demolition path: the condemnation review team (the building official, fire chief, city engineer and code enforcement supervisor, per § 3-544) inspects and recommends, with the team required to respond within five business days of an inspection request. A written notice of violation under § 3-545 must describe the property, cite the article sections violated, and give the owner not less than 10 days nor more than 120 days to repair, alter or demolish before the city can act; owners get 14 days to remove personal property before it is deemed abandoned.

00 fine or 60 days imprisonment under LDC § 1-7. Emergency conditions posing imminent peril, defined in § 3-551 as a building collapsing, falling on adjoining property, or falling into the right-of-way, let the official demolish immediately at the owner's expense without the standard notice period. The full demolition cost becomes a lien on the property, superior to all liens but taxes, enforceable after three months (§ 3-543(f)(3)). Final orders may be appealed as provided by law under § 3-553.