Report a Complaint About a Vacant House or Building

Identify your complaint

We know it's important to prevent the dangers of unsecured structures. Property owners are responsible for the security of a vacant house. You can report a complaint if a vacant house or building has:

• Windows, doors, or other openings that don't shut or lock
• Broken doors or windows
• Owners can board up windows and doors. The board must be white or the house color. 

Make sure you have time to complete the form

This form will take about 5 minutes to complete. You'll be able to save your entry and resume later if you need more time.

Consider creating a Citizen Access account

We use a third party application called Citizen Access to receive complaints about vacant housing. You can submit a complaint anonymously without logging in, or create an account and log in first to make it easier for you to track the status of the complaint over time.

Haven't used Citizen Access before? Make sure to review how to create an account before starting.

Submit your complaint online

After following the link below, you'll agree to the disclaimer. All you’ll need is the property address and a description of your complaint. You'll select that the Exterior of the structure complaint form.

Submit a Private Property Complaint in English

We'll review your complaint

We'll start a case after we review and accept your complaint. Then we send a letter to the owner for complaints we enforce. We give the owner time to correct the issues. Our inspectors follow up with an on-site inspection. If timely corrections aren't completed, the process continues. If the complaint is a hazard, our inspectors inspect the condition as soon as possible. You can track this online through Citizen Access.

Check out our enforcement process(PDF, 313KB) for more details. 

Check the complaint status

Want to see what's happening with the complaint you filed? Visit the Citizen Access website:

• Click the Enforcement tab. 
• Click on the Case Number for more information
• Don't see your complaint case Case Records? Search by Site Address, Parcel Number, or Case Number in the General Search section of the page

If you logged in before submitting your complaint, you'll see the case listed under Case Records

Identify your complaint

We know it's important to prevent the dangers of unsecured structures. Property owners are responsible for the security of a vacant house. You can report a complaint if a vacant house or building has:

• Windows, doors, or other openings that don't shut or lock
• Broken doors or windows
• Owners can board up windows and doors. The board must be white or the house color. 

Make sure you have time to complete the form

This form will take about 5 minutes to complete. You'll be able to save your entry and resume later if you need more time. 

Give us a call 

Call us at the number listed in the Contact Us section of this page. We'll gather all the information needed for you to file a Private Property Complaint over the phone.

We'll review your complaint

We'll start a case after we review and accept your complaint. Then we send a letter to the owner for complaints we enforce. We give the owner time to correct the issues. Our inspectors follow up with an on-site inspection. If timely corrections aren't completed, the process continues. If the complaint is a hazard, our inspectors inspect the condition as soon as possible. You can track this online through Citizen Access.

Check out our enforcement process(PDF, 313KB) for more details. 

Check the complaint status

Want to see what's happening with the complaint you filed? Visit the Citizen Access website:

• Click the Enforcement tab. 
• Click on the Case Number for more information
• Don't see your complaint case Case Records? Search by Site Address, Parcel Number, or Case Number in the General Search section of the page

• If you logged in before submitting your complaint, you'll see the case listed under Case Records

Identify your complaint

We know it's important to prevent the dangers of unsecured structures. Property owners are responsible for the security of a vacant house. You can report a complaint if a vacant house or building has:

• Windows, doors, or other openings that don't shut or lock
• Broken doors or windows
• Owners can board up windows and doors. The board must be white or the house color. 

Make sure you have time to complete the form

This form will take about 5 minutes to complete. You'll be able to save your entry and resume later if you need more time. 

Visit our office

To file a complaint in person, visit Code Compliance at the address listed in the Contact Us section of this page.

We'll review your complaint

We'll start a case after we review and accept your complaint. Then we send a letter to the owner for complaints we enforce. We give the owner time to correct the issues. Our inspectors follow up with an on-site inspection. If timely corrections aren't completed, the process continues. If the complaint is a hazard, our inspectors inspect the condition as soon as possible. You can track this online through Citizen Access.

Check out our enforcement process(PDF, 313KB) for more details. 

Check the complaint status

Want to see what's happening with the complaint you filed? Visit the Citizen Access website:

• Click the Enforcement tab. 
• Click on the Case Number for more information
• Don't see your complaint case Case Records? Search by Site Address, Parcel Number, or Case Number in the General Search section of the page

• If you logged in before submitting your complaint, you'll see the case listed under Case Records