Tucson, AZ Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

City Code § 16-14 declares that buildings so deteriorated, damaged, dilapidated or in need of repair as to threaten health, safety and welfare are a nuisance to be abated under Article VI of the same chapter, by repair, rehabilitation or demolition. The section separately bans vacant, unsecured buildings outright, whether or not they are already fenced. Owners of a vacant structure must remove weeds, combustible waste and refuse from the interior and yard, secure every door, window and opening against entry, and post "No Trespassing" signage; the code official may then reinspect and bill a fee for each reinspection that finds the property still open or debris-strewn.

Subsection (c) lists sixteen specific conditions that independently make a structure a nuisance subject to abatement, including inadequate fire egress, load-bearing stress over one and one-half times code allowance, fire or flood damage that drops structural strength below current code minimums, thirty-three percent or more deterioration of supporting members, rodent or insect infestation rendering the building uninhabitable, and a structure left standing for more than twelve months after demolition began or construction stalled. Under § 16-45, the code official issues a notice of violation identifying the property, the violation, and required corrective action; a repair must start and finish within a code official-set deadline not to exceed sixty days, and any demolition needs permits secured within sixty days of the notice.

Structures ordered vacated get a posted "DO NOT ENTER. UNSAFE TO OCCUPY" notice under § 16-64, and it is unlawful to remove that notice or reenter except to repair, demolish, or remove the structure under permit. Abatement by demolition under § 16-65 is reserved for cases where repair is unreasonable or impracticable.