Youngstown, OH Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Youngstown Codified Ordinances Section 546.08(a) allows the Code Official to condemn any structure or equipment found unsafe, unfit for human occupancy, or unlawful. Once condemned, Section 546.08(b) requires a written Condemnation Notice describing the property, stating the reasons for condemnation, ordering a reasonable time for repairs, and setting out the appeal process; notice must go by certified and regular mail to the owner and any lienholders, be posted conspicuously on the property, and if certified mail goes unclaimed, be published in a local newspaper once a week for two consecutive weeks.

Under Section 546.08(c), the Code Official posts a placard reading Condemned with the penalties for occupying the premises, operating the equipment, or removing the placard; occupancy is barred except for repair work, and if an occupant refuses to vacate on order, the Chief of Police is notified and is duty-bound to vacate the structure. Section 546.08(e) makes condemned structures subject to demolition: the owner has 15 days from the notice date to appeal to the Property Maintenance Appeals Board, which must hear the appeal within 60 days; if no timely appeal is filed and the property is not razed or repaired within the time stated in the notice, the City may raze it at any time thereafter, and a denied appeal likewise clears the way for demolition.

Costs of carrying out condemnation, including razing, are recovered under Section 546.99 by invoicing the owner and, if unpaid within 30 days, pursuing further collection. Emergency conditions under Section 1525.01 can trigger an emergency demolition order under Chapter 1525 even during the condemnation process.