Nuisance abatement
The process a local government uses to clean up, board up or demolish a hazardous property and bill the cost back to it, often as a lien.
Definition
Nuisance abatement is the process a local government uses to stop or remove a condition that harms the public, such as an open vacant building, trash and debris, overgrown weeds, a fire hazard or repeated criminal activity at a property. The government gives the owner notice and a deadline, and if the owner does not act, it hires a contractor to clean up, board up or demolish.
The cost then goes back on the property. Phoenix, for example, gives owners 35 days after a notice of ordinance violation to correct the problem, and if the city abates the property by contract, it assesses the cost as a lien. Other places add the charge to the property tax bill. Nuisance cases are often handled in administrative hearings or local courts, so the records may sit with code enforcement, the city attorney or the court clerk. A nuisance abatement record usually means an owner who is absent, overwhelmed or out of money, and the property often carries other liens.
Source: phoenix.gov
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