Walton County, FL Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Section 6-38 defines an unsafe building as one damaged by fire, flood, wind, or other natural disaster to the point its structural integrity falls below what the Standard Building Code requires for new construction, or one whose exterior appendages are no longer securely fastened enough to resist wind or seismic loads to that same new-construction standard, or one otherwise in a condition that constitutes a public nuisance. 03 addresses dilapidated structures more broadly, finding that they are a blighting factor that deteriorates the property itself and depreciates the value of adjacent and surrounding properties, and declaring outright that dilapidated structures, including real property, personal property, or fixtures, constitute a public nuisance and are prohibited countywide, whether the lot is improved or unimproved.

That section places an affirmative duty on every property owner in the county to keep the property free of that nuisance at the owner's own expense. The Board of County Commissioners is authorized to use any and all means, including county funds and the Code Enforcement procedures in the Land Development Code's chapter on code enforcement, to abate a dilapidated structure that threatens public health, safety, or welfare. An owner disputing a building official's unsafe-building determination can appeal to the board of adjustments/code enforcement board under Section 6-37.