ABA Family Legal Guide

Home Ownership

Managing Neighborhood Problems

Handling Disputes

My neighbor is letting his property fall apart. Is there anything I can do?

Blighted property decreases the value of surrounding homes and will frequently incur the wrath of surrounding neighbors. However, unless homeowners are governed by subdivision rules on exterior maintenance, they are generally free to choose how their property looks. The exception occurs when a place is so neglected that it becomes a neighborhood eyesore, such as a yard overgrown with weeds or filled with trash, or a safety hazard, such as a dangerous structure.

If deterioration is a matter of the offenders' financial problems, perhaps you and other neighbors could pitch in for a "cleanup" day. If it's simply a matter of sloth, ask the offenders to clean up or repair what is broken. If they refuse your request that they clean up their property to a reasonable standard, you may be able to get the city to force them do it, provided it has an ordinance declaring blighted property to be a nuisance. If so requested by a resident--or if a city official observes the nuisance--the city may issue repeated notices to the offenders. In about 95 percent of the cases, homeowners clean up their property after the first notice. About 1 percent of the cases are actually prosecuted in court.

And if you are the one at fault, you may want to clean up your act. A California man was jailed twice after the city prosecuted him on misdemeanor charges over the piles of trash and junk cars on his property. While he was in jail, the city undertook the cleanup of his property--then placed a $15,000 lien on his home to recover the cleanup costs.