Manatee County, FL Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Manatee County's Lot Clearing Procedures Act, codified at Code of Laws Sec. 1-19-21 through 1-19-27, requires every owner of land in the unincorporated area, improved or unimproved, to keep it cleared of weeds, brush, debris and noxious material that breeds snakes, vermin or mosquitoes, creates a fire hazard, or becomes an unsightly or unsanitary nuisance (Sec. 1-19-23). Enforcement starts with a written complaint from anyone residing or occupying a dwelling within 200 feet of the offending lot, or from a local fire control district agent, or the Planning and Development Department can open a case on its own initiative (Sec.

1-19-24). Once the department finds a lot noncompliant, it sends the owner or agent notice by registered mail to the address on the latest county tax roll, directing the owner to cut, clear or remove the weeds, brush or debris, including material on the abutting sidewalk. The owner has 15 days from that notice to comply; after that the department can clear the land itself or have it cleared under private contract (Sec. 1-19-25). The county then assesses a lien against the land for the actual clearing cost plus the expenses of preparing, filing and recording the lien and any legal costs, records the lien with the clerk of the circuit court, and turns it over to the tax collector for billing in the following tax year, where it carries the same penalties and interest as delinquent county ad valorem taxes (Sec.

1-19-26). The board of county commissioners funds the clearing program through a revolving fund seeded from general revenue, capped at one-sixth mill, designed to be self-sustaining (Sec. 1-19-27). , Ch. 82-321, adopted in 1982 and carried in Part I of the county's Code of Laws rather than as a locally enacted ordinance.