Warrick County, IN Property Maintenance: Snow & Sidewalk Clearing (2026)

Warrick County Code § 159.02 makes the abutting landowner responsible for maintaining and repairing the sidewalk fronting their property in unincorporated areas, listing removal of snow and ice alongside repair of damaged sidewalk and removal of debris, vegetation, or obstructions. There is no fixed number-of-hours deadline printed in the code; the duty runs continuously, "as and when needed." Enforcement runs through § 159.03: the Board of County Commissioners or its designee gives notice, in person or by mail, and the landowner then has 30 days to perform the repair or clearing.

The Board is not required to conduct routine inspections, so enforcement is complaint or notice driven rather than proactive patrol. If the landowner misses the 30-day window, the county may hire an independent contractor to do the work, prepares a certified statement of the actual cost incurred, and serves an invoice on the landowner. The landowner then has ten calendar days from service of the invoice to pay the full amount to the Board of County Commissioners. Unpaid invoices are certified to the County Auditor together with any additional administrative certification costs, and the total is placed on the property's tax duplicate, becoming due and payable with the real estate tax bill, with accrued interest.

Section 159.01 clarifies this duty attaches to any landowner whose property abuts a sidewalk in unincorporated Warrick County and creates no third-party cause of action against the landowner over sidewalk condition.