Walton County, FL Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)
Key Facts
- Removal deadline
- 30 days to clear junk from a lot
- Zoning covered
- Estate, Rural, Residential, Mixed Use categories
- Citation fine
- Up to $500 per violation
- Board fine, repeat violation
- Up to $5,000 per day
- Enforcing agency
- Walton County Code Enforcement / Special Magistrate
Summary
In unincorporated Walton County, junk, litter and junked or abandoned motor vehicles cannot sit for more than 30 days in a yard, garden, lawn, outbuilding or open area of any private property zoned Estate Residential, Rural Residential, Residential or Mixed Use, whether the lot is built on or vacant. The county's Land Development Code treats an accumulation of junk as a public nuisance that Planning and Development Services can order removed through code enforcement.
It is found and determined that a large amount of junk has and is accumulated in the County and that accumulations of junk constitute a menace to the public health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the county and mar and detract from the natural beauty of the County. ... 1.No owner or occupant shall cause or permit junk, litter, or junked or abandoned motor vehicles to remain in or upon any yard, garden, lawn, open outbuilding or open area of any private property in the county within the Estate Residential, Rural Residential, Residential and Mixed Use Future Land Use Map categories, for a period in excess of 30 days, other than in an enclosed litter receptacle or in connection with a business enterprise or activity, lawfully situated and zoned, and possessing a license or permit to store such junk upon its premises.
Full Breakdown
01 opens by finding that accumulated junk constitutes a menace to the public health, safety and welfare and mars and detracts from the natural beauty of the County, giving the Board of County Commissioners authority to use County funds and code enforcement procedures to abate it. 1 bars owners and occupants from letting junk, litter, or junked or abandoned motor vehicles remain in a yard, garden, lawn, open outbuilding or open area of private property in the Estate Residential, Rural Residential, Residential and Mixed Use Future Land Use Map categories for more than 30 days.
The only exceptions are storage in an enclosed litter receptacle or on the premises of a licensed, lawfully zoned business. 2 separately bars dumping abandoned property on public land and creates a rebuttable presumption that property bearing a person's name, or ejected from a vehicle, belongs to that person or the vehicle's owner or operator. 01 carrying a civil fine of up to $500 per violation plus administrative costs. 04.
Violations & Fines
A first citation carries a civil fine up to $500 per violation plus administrative costs, payable to the Clerk of Court or contestable before the Special Magistrate. A case referred to the Code Enforcement Board instead can draw a fine up to $1,000 per day for a first violation, up to $5,000 per day for a repeat violation, and up to $15,000 for an irreparable violation, plus the county's repair costs recorded as a lien.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this junk rule apply to a vacant lot with no house on it?
How long do I have to clean up junk before I'm cited?
What happens if I ignore the notice?
Can I store scrap or old equipment for my business on the lot?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Walton County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Walton County to another location·View the Florida property maintenance overview
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