Property Maintenance in Virginia (2026)

Virginia authorizes localities to require removal or repair of derelict and blighted buildings under specific state…

Suffolk actively polices blight. Under City Code Sec. 34-109 an owner must remove trash, garbage, refuse, litter…

Virginia Beach enforces property maintenance standards through its Code Enforcement Division. The city uses the…

Albemarle County can order an owner to remove, repair, or secure any building, wall, or structure that endangers public…

Alexandria can force the repair, or acquire and repair, blighted or derelict property under City Code Article I. A…

Arlington County Code § 29-11 lets the County acquire or repair blighted property, including by eminent domain, once a…

Chesapeake's dangerous-building ordinance lets the director of development and permits declare any building, wall or…

Hanover County Code Section 6-51 requires owners to remove, repair or secure any building or structure that might…

A Lynchburg building left vacant, boarded up and disconnected from utilities for over 12 months can be declared…

A Montgomery County property owner must remove, repair or secure any building or structure that endangers public health…

Newport News can formally declare an unsafe, long-vacant building 'derelict' and require the owner to submit a…

Norfolk's derelict buildings article, Norfolk Code of Ordinances § 27-73, lets the director of neighborhood…

Portsmouth code officials can order an owner to repair, demolish, or remove any structure so unsafe, unsanitary, or…

Under the county's Unsafe Buildings and Structures Ordinance, the building official, building maintenance official or…

Richmond's Spot Blight Abatement Program (City Code Ch. 5, Art. IV) lets the Mayor formally identify a blighted…

Roanoke's derelict building program lets the codes compliance administrator declare a vacant, boarded-up structure…

Roanoke County's Unsafe Buildings and Structures article lets the building official order repair or demolition of any…

Spotsylvania County can order owners to remove, repair, or secure any building or wall that endangers public health or…

Chesterfield enforces property upkeep through Community Enhancement and the Virginia Maintenance Code (part of the…

Fairfax County's Health Department can order owners to repair, secure, or remove deteriorated, structurally unsafe, or…

Frederick County enforces the Virginia Maintenance Code against unsafe, substandard structures in the unincorporated…

Hampton's Housing Improvement Program lets the code official inspect high-risk dwellings and order owners of…

Henrico County Code Sec. 10-100 makes it unlawful for a property owner to let trash, garbage, refuse, litter or clutter…

Graffiti on private property is a nuisance that owners must remove promptly, typically within 15 days of notice…

Chapter 648 lets the County Administrator or the Director of Public Health order a property owner to abate any…

Stafford County can force an owner to remove, repair or secure any building, wall or structure that endangers public…

Graffiti on Vienna private or public property must be removed by owners promptly under property maintenance standards…

On undeveloped land within 75 feet of a public right-of-way or a neighboring developed lot, Albemarle County caps…

Alexandria declares weeds over 12 inches tall a public nuisance on any property, including vacant lots, under City Code…

Owners of vacant property in Arlington County must cut grass, weeds and other foreign growth whenever it creates a…

Owners of vacant and unoccupied lots must keep grass, weeds, and growth cut and clear of trash. Chesterfield's weed…

Fairfax County applies its 12-inch grass and lawn cap to undeveloped residential lots inside mostly built-out…

In Frederick County outside Winchester, Stephens City and Middletown, Section 122-6 separately bars owners of any lot…

Owners of vacant Hampton lots must keep them free of accumulated trash, garbage, refuse, litter and clutter under the…

In Hanover County outside the Town of Ashland, letting garbage, trash, rubbish or other refuse sit outdoors in an…

On undeveloped Henrico property, weeds or grass more than 12 inches tall within 150 feet of adjacent developed property…

Beyond the citywide 12-inch weed limit, Lynchburg's weed control ordinance singles out undeveloped land: weeds must be…

Trash on any parcel, improved or vacant, in a residential, business, commercial or industrial zone or platted…

Newport News bans overgrown shrubs, trees, vines and other vegetation on any land, occupied or vacant, when it blocks…

Norfolk requires vacant lots to be kept clear of tall grass, trash, and debris under the Virginia Maintenance Code and…

Portsmouth bans grass or weeds over ten inches within 300 feet of any building or road on any lot in the city, and bans…

Vacant and unimproved lots in Prince William County must be kept free of weeds over 12 inches tall. The Department of…

Richmond prohibits anyone who owns or occupies land within the City, including vacant and unimproved lots, from letting…

Roanoke declares weeds over ten inches tall and trash lying on any parcel a public nuisance under Sec. 33-18, and…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), owners of vacant developed or…

Spotsylvania County limits weeds to fifteen inches on vacant developed or undeveloped property inside a subdivision or…

Owners of vacant developed or undeveloped property in Stafford County must keep grass, weeds and other foreign growth…

Vacant lots in Suffolk must be mowed. City Code Sec. 34-110 requires owners of vacant developed or undeveloped property…

Virginia Beach requires owners to cut grass, weeds, or brush over 10 inches and remove trash from vacant lots within…

Yes. Suffolk requires it. City Code Sec. 74-41 makes each owner or occupant clear snow from the sidewalk and gutter in…