Richmond, VA Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Richmond City Code Sec. 11-103 bars anyone who owns or occupies land in the City, including vacant and unimproved lots, from letting trash, garbage, refuse, litter, junk, demolition materials, or exposed upholstered furniture pile up on the land itself or on the abutting alley, sidewalk, right-of-way, or grass strip. Sec. 11-104 carves out narrow exceptions: legally authorized junk dealers or salvage operators, the City's own landfill, a legally authorized private landfill, and materials held in Public Works-approved containers awaiting City collection or private hauling. Enforcement tracks the same machinery that governs weeds and vegetation under Article IV of Chapter 11.

Sec. 11-107 lets any law enforcement officer, fire marshal, fire inspector, sworn special police officer, or City employee designated by the Chief Administrative Officer serve, post, mail, or deliver a notice giving the responsible party 48 hours, or the deadline stated in the notice, to clear the property, with one notice per growing season treated as reasonable. If the accumulation is an imminent threat to public health or the environment, the City can abate without notice. Under Sec. 00 administrative fee plus the actual cost of abatement, both of which become a lien on the real estate, collected the same way as unpaid City real estate taxes. The Chief Administrative Officer files an annual report to City Council, due by December 1, on abatement activity and liens imposed.