Montgomery County, OH Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)
Key Facts
- County lot code
- None; township/city enforces
- Township law
- ORC 505.87 abatement
- Notice period
- 7 days to owner
- Unpaid cost
- Lien on the land
- City weeds law
- ORC 731.51
Summary
There is no countywide vacant-lot code. In townships, trustees can order vegetation, garbage, and debris abated under ORC 505.87 and bill the owner as a tax lien; cities enforce their own vacant-lot standards.
A board of township trustees may provide for the abatement, control, or removal of vegetation, garbage, refuse, and other debris from land in the township, if the board determines that the owner's maintenance of that vegetation, garbage, refuse, or other debris constitutes a nuisance.
Full Breakdown
Vacant and unimproved lots are policed by the jurisdiction they sit in. In unincorporated Montgomery County townships (Washington, Miami, Harrison, Jefferson, and others), the board of trustees may abate overgrown vegetation, garbage, refuse, and debris on any lot it declares a nuisance under ORC 505.87, after seven days' notice to the owner. In cities and villages, the municipal legislative authority uses its own property-maintenance and weed ordinances (and ORC 731.51 for noxious weeds). Costs the government incurs abating a vacant lot are entered on the county auditor's tax duplicate and become a lien on the land.
Violations & Fines
After notice, government abates the lot and enters all costs on the tax duplicate as a lien on the land under ORC 505.87.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who mows a neglected vacant lot in a township?
Can the county put a lien on my lot?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Montgomery County
Compare Montgomery County to another location·View the Ohio property maintenance overview
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