Code Enforcement’s objective is to educate the citizens and obtain voluntary compliance with City ordinance. When necessary, several enforcement options available to the inspectors are:

The City of Arlington’s Code Enforcement Division activities emphasize informing residents about code standards in order to gain compliance, and most people conform to the standards as soon as they are notified of them.

When verbal notification has not achieved compliance, or when the code compliance officers deem necessary, a written warning known as a Notice of Violation (NOV) may be issued. An NOV provides specific information about the violation and sets a number of days within which the violation must be corrected. NOV’s can be issued in two formats. One is the letter size NOV shown below. This format was created as a check list for common violations:

A generic (blank) NOV is issued for other violations, and looks similar to a citation, although it is a warning just like the letter format. An example of a generic NOV is shown below:

Depending upon the seriousness of a violation or due to a violation continuing to occur, citations may be issued. Citations carry fines up to $2,000, depending on the nature, severity, and frequency of the violation.