Local governments may order repair, closing, or demolition of unfit dwellings and may by ordinance do the same for certain abandoned structures.
(a)Dwellings. —The existence and occupation of dwellings that are unfit for human habitation are inimical to the welfare and dangerous and injurious to the health and safety of the people of this State. A public necessity exists for the repair, closing, or demolition of such dwellings. Whenever any local government finds that there exists in the planning and development regulation jurisdiction dwellings that are unfit for human habitation due to dilapidation; defects increasing the hazards of fire, accidents or other calamities; lack of ventilation, light, or sanitary facilities; or other conditions rendering the dwellings unsafe or unsanitary, or dangerous or detrimental to the health, safety, morals, or otherwise inimical to the welfare of the residents of the local government, power is conferred upon the local government to exercise its police powers to repair, close, or demolish the dwellings consistent with the provisions of this Article. (b)Abandoned Structures. —Any local government may by ordinance provide for the repair, closing, or demolition of any abandoned structure that the governing board finds to be a health or safety hazard as a result of the attraction of insects or rodents, conditions creating a fire hazard, dangerous conditions constituting a threat to children, or frequent use by vagrants as living quarters in the absence of sanitary facilities. The ordinance may provide for the repair, closing, or demolition of such structure pursuant to the same provisions and procedures as are prescribed by this Article for the repair, closing, or demolition of dwellings found to be unfit for human habitation. History: History.2019-111, s. 2.4; 2020-3, s. 4.33(a); 2020-25, ss. 39, 51(a), (b), (d).