Warwick, RI Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Section 26-101 of Article IV lets the director designate a dwelling or dwelling unit as unfit for continued occupancy and human habitation on three grounds: it is so lacking in sanitation, heating, lighting, or ventilation under Articles V, VI, or VIII that it creates a serious health or safety hazard; it is so unsanitary, overcrowded, or otherwise dangerous under Article VII that it creates a serious hazard; or it is so decayed, damaged, dilapidated, unsanitary, unsafe, or infested under Article IX that it creates a serious hazard.

Roominghouses and rooming units are separately condemnable under Section 26-102 for Article XII violations. Once the director finds a dwelling unfit, Section 26-103 requires a notice of intent to condemn, and Section 26-104 lets an uncorrected compliance order double as an order to vacate, served at least ten days before the effective date, appealable to the housing board of review under Chapter 6, Article VI. Vacated dwellings must be secured against entry under Section 26-108, or the open, unguarded building is itself deemed a fire hazard and public nuisance.

If the cost to repair, alter, or improve a condemned dwelling exceeds 50 percent of its assessed valuation, Section 26-109 lets the director order demolition instead, with notice by publication if an owner cannot be located, and Section 26-110's demolition order must be served at least three months before the effective date. Under Sections 26-111 through 26-113, if an owner does not comply, the director can make the repairs or demolish the structure at the owner's expense, sell salvaged materials, and record a lien for the net cost plus a ten percent service charge.

Section 26-114 bars vacating or demolishing an occupied dwelling until the occupants are offered decent, safe, and sanitary relocation housing, and Section 26-115 extends the whole article to any building or structure vacant or unused for more than 180 days.