Queen Anne's County, MD Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Section 19-2(I) is the rule that reaches a neglected lot. A person cannot allow on any property, for more than 30 days, the presence of junk, garbage, refuse or rubbish that is stored or maintained in an unsafe or unsanitary manner, or within 200 feet of a public or private road or dwelling. The text says any property, so a lot with no building on it is covered. Junkyards allowed and operated under the Queen Anne's County Zoning Regulations are excluded. Junk is defined in § 19-1 to include old or scrap rope, rags, batteries, paper, trash, rubber debris including tires, iron and steel, wrecked or dismantled motor vehicles and parts, and household appliances.

Under § 19-3, the owner and the occupant of any premises are responsible for its sanitary condition, and a person cannot maintain or voluntarily allow any nuisance matter on the premises. Section 19-2(H) adds a duty to exercise proper rodent control measures to discourage or eliminate rats. The tall-grass limit has its own rule in § 19-2(L), which sets a 12-inch height cap on qualifying lots under three acres. The enforcement path is spelled out in Article III. The Enforcement Officer, designated by the County Commissioners, can investigate on a written complaint from a medical practitioner, an affected person (a contiguous owner or resident) or a homeowners' association, or on a reasonable basis to believe a violation exists.

The officer can serve a written notice requiring abatement within a time stated in the notice. If the owner does not act, § 19-6(B) lets the County Commissioners abate the nuisance by any appropriate means and assess the property owner for the abatement costs plus an administrative fee of $100. That assessment is a lien against the real property that benefited and is collected like County real estate taxes. Incorporated towns such as Centreville and Queenstown have separate codes.