Stafford County, VA Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)
Key Facts
- Height limit
- 6 inches, vacant property
- Exempt use
- Active farming operations
- Notice method
- First-class mail or personal delivery
- First penalty
- $50.00 civil fine
- Repeat penalty
- Up to $200.00, capped $3,000/12 mo
- Enforcing office
- Director of Planning and Zoning
Summary
Owners of vacant developed or undeveloped property in Stafford County must keep grass, weeds and other foreign growth cut to six inches or less and keep running bamboo contained. Active farmland is exempt, and the county can cut noncompliant lots itself and bill the owner.
(a)The owners of vacant developed or undeveloped property, except for land in use as an active farming operation, including such property upon which buildings or other improvements are located, shall cut the grass, weeds and other foreign growth on such property or any part thereof and maintain such growth to six (6) inches in height or less and shall maintain running bamboo at all times. ... Upon the failure of the owner of such vacant property to cut such grass, weeds or other foreign growth, or contain or remove running bamboo, as provided in such notice, the director may have such grass, weeds, and other foreign growth cut and charge the cost and expense to the owner of the property and may collect these costs and expenses as taxes are collected.
Full Breakdown
Section 24-17 applies to vacant developed or undeveloped land, including lots that carry buildings or other improvements, but exempts land actively used as a farming operation. Owners must cut grass, weeds and other foreign growth to six inches in height or less and must maintain running bamboo, defined in section 24-16 as bamboo with aggressive spreading behavior including species in the genus Phyllostachys, at all times. Before the county acts, it must give reasonable notice by first-class mail or personal delivery; if the owner cannot be found, notice is dispensed with.
If the owner still fails to cut the growth or contain the bamboo after notice, the director of planning and zoning may have the work done and add the cost to the owner's account, collectible the same way as taxes. This differs from the parallel rule for occupied residential lots under section 24-18, which allows grass up to 12 inches on lots under half an acre. Section 24-19 sets the penalty structure shared by both sections and by the bamboo-containment rule in section 24-20.
Violations & Fines
A first violation of section 24-17(a), or a group of violations arising from the same facts, draws a civil penalty of $50.00 under section 24-19. A later, unrelated violation within 12 months can draw up to $200.00, and each business day the violation continues is a separate offense, though total civil penalties from one set of facts cannot exceed $3,000.00 in a 12-month period. A third civil penalty against the same owner for the same or similar conduct within 24 months converts later violations into a Class 3 misdemeanor instead of a civil fine.
Frequently Asked Questions
How tall can weeds get on a vacant lot in Stafford County?
What happens if I don't cut my vacant lot after being notified?
Does this rule cover occupied homes too?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Stafford County
Compare Stafford County to another location·View the Virginia property maintenance overview
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