Yakima, WA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Trigger
- Deteriorated/dangerous/unfit structure
- Cost threshold
- 50% of replacement value
- City remedy
- Repair, demolish, or vacate order
- Unpaid costs
- Become a property lien
Summary
Yakima code officials can order owners of deteriorated, dangerous or uninhabitable structures to repair or demolish them at the owner's expense, with escalating remedies up to city-ordered demolition and a property lien.
11.40.110.1 General. The code official shall order the owner or owner's authorized agent of any premises upon which is located any structure, which…is so deteriorated or dilapidated or has become so out of repair as to be dangerous, unsafe, insanitary or otherwise unfit for human habitation or occupancy, the code official shall order that, at the owner's expense, such structure, premises or unfit portion thereof be…repaired or demolished and removed.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4980636; v1 updated 2026-08-03; through 08-03-2026).
Full Breakdown
Under YMC § 11.40.110.1, the code official may order the owner of any structure so deteriorated, dilapidated, or out of repair that it is dangerous, unsafe, insanitary, or unfit for habitation to repair or demolish it at the owner's expense. If repair costs exceed 50 percent of the structure's replacement value, demolition and removal is required; below that threshold, the code official can require repair, or allow the structure to be vacated and secured for up to one year. A related imminent-danger provision lets the code official immediately order occupants to vacate a structure in danger of collapse.
Violations & Fines
If an owner fails to comply with a demolition order, the city demolishes and removes the structure itself and charges the cost against the property as a lien, recoverable through a special assessment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who pays to repair or demolish a dangerous building in Yakima?
What decides repair versus demolition?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Yakima
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