Wayne County, MI Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Program
- Nuisance Abatement Program (NAP)
- Administered by
- Office of Corporation Counsel
- Applies to
- vacant, abandoned, or hazardous property countywide
- Established
- Ord. No. 2007-271, May 17, 2007
- Remedy
- court-ordered repair, demolition, or county acquisition
Summary
Wayne County, Michigan authorizes its corporation counsel to sue owners of vacant or abandoned nuisance property, seeking court orders to force repair, renovation, or demolition, or to let the county enter, fix, or acquire blighted parcels.
The purpose of the nuisance abatement program ("NAP") will be to eliminate vacant or abandoned property that has been identified as nuisance property in order to prevent or eradicate significant dangers or conditions that adversely affect the public health, safety and welfare of communities or neighborhoods within the county. This NAP chapter addresses issues raised by the Michigan courts, which have recognized that the actions or inactions of property owners can create or perpetuate nuisances to adjoining neighbors, and that eradicating nuisance properties leads to protecting, promoting, and securing the public health, safety and welfare of the neighborhoods and communities within the county.
(Ord. No. 2007-271, eff. 5-17-07)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 31).
Full Breakdown
The Nuisance Abatement Program (NAP), created under Chapter 90 of the Wayne County Code and run by the Office of Corporation Counsel, targets vacant or abandoned residential and commercial property found unsuitable for habitation, dilapidated, hazardous, or open to trespass. Corporation counsel can identify nuisance properties, sue owners or interested parties to compel abatement, file a lis pendens, and ask a court to authorize the county to enter and repair, renovate, or demolish a property and bill the owner, or to award the county ownership outright. The county can also negotiate settlement or 'community redevelopment purchase' agreements transferring acquired nuisance properties to neighborhood organizations for rehabilitation. This applies countywide, not just in unincorporated areas.
Violations & Fines
Owners who don't abate can be sued; a court can order repair, renovation, or demolition, let the county enter and fix the property and bill the owner, or award the county ownership outright.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Wayne County's nuisance abatement program reach property inside cities like Detroit?
What happens if the owner of a blighted property won't fix it?
What counts as a 'nuisance' property under the ordinance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Wayne County
Compare Wayne County to another location·View the Michigan property maintenance overview
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