Burlington, NC Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)
Key Facts
- Applies to
- vacant and occupied lots alike
- Listed junk
- combustible piles, bad appliances, outdoor furniture
- Water hazard
- blocked drains causing standing water
- Chronic violator
- 3+ notices on same lot in a year
- City remedy
- abatement cost liened, billed like taxes
Summary
In the City of Burlington, North Carolina, § 22-1 makes it unlawful for an owner or occupant of any lot, including a vacant one, to let a noxious condition exist, and § 22-2 lists open piles of combustible junk, garbage and discarded appliances or furniture as nuisances. Owners who rack up three notices in a year are named chronic violators under § 22-7.
It shall be unlawful for the owner or occupant of any lot or parcel of land in the city to permit to exist on any such lot or parcel of land any condition which may be declared to be noxious, detrimental to health or to constitute a nuisance. ... An open place of concentration of combustible items such as mattresses, boxes, paper, automobile parts, tires and tubes, toys and plastic objects, garbage, trash, refuse, brush, old clothes, rags, or any other combustible materials or objects of a like nature. ... Any openly kept appliances, metal products of any kind that have jagged edges of metal or glass or that have areas of confinement, indoor furniture constructed of soft materials including, but not limited to, leather, vinyl, cloth, etc., or any other furniture not intended for outdoor use. ... A chronic violator is a person who owns property on which, in the previous calendar year, the city gave notice of violation at least three (3) times under any provision of the public nuisance ordinance.
Full Breakdown
Section 22-1 makes it "unlawful for the owner or occupant of any lot or parcel of land in the city to permit to exist" a condition declared noxious, detrimental to health or a nuisance, and § 22-2's enumeration reaches vacant land just as it reaches occupied property. Among the listed conditions are open piles of combustible material, including mattresses, boxes, automobile parts, tires, old clothes, rags, brush and other refuse, and openly kept appliances or metal products with jagged edges or areas of confinement, along with indoor furniture such as leather, vinyl or cloth pieces left outdoors, all treated as violations under §§ 22-2(3) and (6).
A vacant lot with standing water caused by a blocked swale, ditch or drain is also a listed nuisance under § 22-2(7). Code enforcement follows the same mailed-and-posted notice and ten-day cure process set out in § 22-3 for any lot, occupied or not, and can abate the condition itself and lien the property under § 22-5 if the owner does not clear it. Section 22-7 adds a chronic-violator track: an owner who received three or more nuisance notices on the same parcel in the previous calendar year can be cited again without further warning and the city can move straight to remedy, with the cost becoming a lien collected like unpaid taxes.
Violations & Fines
Leaving open piles of combustible junk, discarded appliances, outdoor furniture not built for weather, or standing water from a blocked drain on a vacant lot is a cited nuisance under § 22-2, regardless of whether anyone occupies the property. After the § 22-3 notice and ten-day cure period lapse, the city can abate the condition and lien the lot for the cost, and an owner who has drawn three or more nuisance notices on the parcel in the prior year is a chronic violator under § 22-7, subject to being cited again with no further warning that year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Burlington's nuisance ordinance apply to lots with no house on them?
What kind of debris counts as a violation on a vacant lot?
What if the lot keeps getting cited?
Who pays if the city has to clean up the lot?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Burlington
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