Abatement Program

The Neighborhood Services Department has a specialized group of Neighborhood Preservation Inspectors that address blighted properties in cases where structures are found vacant and accessible. This group also addresses properties and vacant lots where the ownership is absent, the owners have been unresponsive and compliance with the Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance has not been obtained.  

The abatement process begins with the issuance of a Notice of Ordinance violation granting the owner 35 days to correct the violations and it culminates with the contractual cleaning and/or securement of a property if compliance is not achieved.  If the property is contractually abated, the cost of the work is assessed to the property in the form of a lien.  This is done to recover the costs of the work performed.

Common violations on vacant properties include:

·       Accumulation of trash

·       Overgrown and/ or dead vegetation

·       Graffiti

·       Open and accessible structures.

Abatement Lien Program

The City of Phoenix Abatement Lien Program facilitates blight elimination and redevelopment of the City's most neglected properties. These abandoned blighted properties require repeated intervention by the City to contractually abate hazards and remove blight. The Abatement Lien Program addresses these properties which attract crime and reduce property values through judicial foreclosure on the basis of the unpaid liens. The program collects outstanding liens on properties, prevents the loss of liens to tax foreclosures, and reduces abatement costs on problem properties.

The program has also been responsible for facilitating the renewal of hundreds of abandoned properties directly contributing to the reduction of blight and crime, and improving the quality of life in Phoenix neighborhoods. Properties that undergo foreclosure are auctioned at a Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Sale. To receive  e-mail notification of upcoming sales, click on the link below.