Corpus Christi, TX Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Sec. 22-6 prohibits any owner or occupant of a lot or parcel of land from permitting litter, solid waste, inoperative or abandoned household appliances, furniture, or other unsightly, objectionable, or unsanitary matter to accumulate, unless it's placed for collection at a location the director of solid waste services designates under chapter 21. The rule applies to vacant and occupied lots alike since it turns on ownership or occupancy of the land, not on whether a structure sits on it. Where a property owner fails to comply with a municipal requirement covering stagnant water, filth, carrion, weeds, rubbish, brush, diseased trees, or other objectionable or unsanitary conditions within seven days of notice, Sec.

22-7 authorizes the city to do the work itself and charge the expense to the owner. Notice can be delivered personally, by certified mail return receipt requested to the address on file with the appraisal district, or, if personal service can't be obtained, by publication, by posting on a building's front door, or by staking a placard on the property. A notice returned by USPS as refused or unclaimed still counts as delivered. The city may also warn an owner that a repeat violation within one year of the same kind that endangers public health lets the city correct it again without further notice, at the owner's expense.

Under Sec. 22-8, the city recovers those expenses by filing a lien statement with the Nueces County Clerk, which draws 10 percent interest from the date the city pays and ranks behind only tax liens and street-improvement liens; the city attorney can foreclose that lien in a Tax Code chapter 33 proceeding.