Troup County, GA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Section 1.7 gives the Community Development Director authority to enforce the County's construction codes and, under subsection (5), to declare unsafe any building, structure or electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system that is unsafe, unsanitary, does not provide adequate egress, constitutes a fire hazard, is otherwise dangerous to human life, or is a hazard to safety or health given its existing use. Any structure meeting that definition is declared illegal outright and must be abated, either by repair and rehabilitation or by demolition, under the Unsafe Building Abatement Code referenced in Section 1.3(4)(a)(x), which the County adopted specifically to give code enforcement personnel the tools to compel dangerous buildings to be fixed or torn down.

To reach that point, the Director has right-of-entry power under Section 1.7(2) to inspect a building or premises on reasonable cause that an unsafe condition exists, presenting credentials to an occupant or, if the property is vacant, first making a reasonable effort to locate the owner. If entry is refused, the Director can pursue an inspection warrant or other legal remedy to gain access. Once a hazard is confirmed, Section 1.7(3) lets the Director order work halted immediately with a written stop-work notice, and Section 1.7(4) authorizes revoking any permit issued on a false statement or for work that violates the code.

Section 1.3(1) frames all of this as remedial, meaning it is meant to be construed broadly to protect life and property from structural, sanitary and fire hazards.