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Guide · 5 min read · updated 2026-09-18

Got a code enforcement notice for junk or debris? What it requires and by when

How long you have to clear it, how many days to appeal, and what happens if the city or county cleans it up for you, for Stockton, Lodi, Sacramento and both counties.

Not legal advice. We haul junk; we are not lawyers. This page states what the code sections say and links each one in the sources below. Laws change and your notice, lease or governing documents control your situation. For a deadline that matters, read the section itself or talk to a California attorney.

The short answer

A notice of violation for junk, debris or an accumulation of trash usually gives you a correction date and an appeal deadline. Those are two different clocks.

  • Correction: the date on the notice. Some codes set a default: 10 days in unincorporated San Joaquin County unless the notice says otherwise, and no more than 10 business days for a non-building violation in unincorporated Sacramento County.
  • Appeal: often shorter than people expect. It is 10 calendar days in Stockton, Lodi, Manteca and unincorporated San Joaquin County, and 10 *business* days to contest a Sacramento County citation.

If the deadline passes and nothing is done, fines accrue, the agency can clear the property itself, and the bill can end up as a lien or on your property tax bill.

The one thing to do today is find both dates on the notice and write them down.

Deadlines by jurisdiction

Read from each code on the date at the top of this page. Your notice controls if it gives a different date.

WhereTime to correctTime to appealCitation fines
Unincorporated San Joaquin County10 days, or as the notice specifies (§1-2046(d))10 days, written, to the Enforcement Official (§1-2046(f)); citations: 14 days (§1-2032)$100 / $200 / $500; building and safety $100 / $500 / $1,000 (§1-2030)
StocktonThe date on the notice (§1.28.010)10 calendar days, with the hearing fee (§1.44.070)$200 first, $500 after (§1.32.050)
LodiThe date on the notice (§1.10.110)10 calendar days, written, to the Director (§1.10.460)$100 / $250 / $500 (§1.10.260)
MantecaSolid-waste nuisance: 5 days after written notice (§13.02.200)10 calendar days (§1.10.450)Set by council resolution (§1.10.240)
City of Sacramento, nuisance notice and orderThe date on the order (§8.04.120)30 days, written, to the department head (§8.04.170)Administrative penalty orders: $100 to $25,000 (§1.28.010)
City of Sacramento, administrative penalty orderA reasonable period for building or zoning violations (§1.28.010)20 calendar days, to the City Clerk (§1.28.010)Level D $100 to $999.99, up to Level A $5,000 to $25,000
Unincorporated Sacramento County30 calendar days for non-imminent housing or building; up to 10 business days for others (§16.18.207)10 business days from service; 4 calendar days if cited as imminent (§16.18.206)$100 / $200 / $500; building and housing $100 / $500 / $1,000 (§16.18.207)

Fines keep counting

Under most of these codes every day a violation continues is a separate violation (Sacramento County §16.18.208, for example). Stockton and Lodi can also impose civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation per day, capped at $100,000 per parcel (Stockton §1.40.020, Lodi §1.10.370).

Late fines grow. In Stockton and Lodi an unpaid citation becomes delinquent 60 days after it is imposed, then adds 10% plus 1% a month. In the City of Sacramento, interest starts on the 26th day after a final penalty order.

State law caps what a city or county can charge for an ordinary infraction: $100, $200 and $500 within a year. For building and safety codes the cap is $130, $700 and $1,300 (Government Code §§25132 and 36900). There is a higher $2,500 tier for a commercial property with a building where the owner fails to remove visible refuse. The agency must offer a hardship waiver for second and later fines if you made a genuine effort to comply after the first (§25132(f), §36900(e)).

If the agency cleans it up

Every jurisdiction above can clear the property itself once the correction date passes, and bill the owner for everything, including staff time.

  • The bill: a statement of costs with a hearing where you can object. In unincorporated San Joaquin County you have 30 days to appeal the accounting (§1-2046(i)). In the City of Sacramento, a written protest is due at least 10 days before the lien hearing (§8.04.400).
  • The lien: unpaid costs can be recorded against the property with the priority of a judgment lien (Government Code §38773.1 for cities, §25845 for counties).
  • The tax bill: or they can be added to your property tax bill as a special assessment. Government Code §38773.5 requires the city to warn that the property can be sold by the tax collector after three years of delinquency.
  • Repeat cases: San Joaquin County (§1-2062) and Sacramento County (§16.18.1003) can charge treble abatement costs for a second judgment within two years.

A contractor the county sends is not bidding against anyone, and the administrative costs ride on top. That is almost always the most expensive way to get a yard cleared.

How to appeal

An appeal is usually a written request filed with a named official before the deadline, often with a fee. Stockton requires the hearing fee with the appeal. San Joaquin County requires a deposit of the fine to request a citation hearing unless you file a hardship waiver within 5 days (§1-2032, §1-2033). Filing an appeal of a San Joaquin County notice stays the fines from the date you appeal (§1-2046(f)). In the City of Sacramento, filing a nuisance appeal stays enforcement while it is pending (§8.04.170).

After the local hearing, you can take an administrative fine to superior court. Government Code §53069.4 gives you 20 days after service of the final decision, and the court hears it fresh. Miss that and the decision is final. For building and zoning issues that are not an immediate danger, the same section requires a reasonable period to fix the problem before fines are imposed.

An appeal is for when the notice is wrong: the wrong parcel, the wrong owner, or something that is not a violation. If the junk is real, clearing it before the date is usually faster and cheaper than a hearing.

Clearing it before the date

What to do with a correction date coming:

  • First, photograph the area named in the notice before anything moves.
  • Clear it, keeping disposal receipts or weight tickets.
  • Photograph it again from the same spots.
  • Send the photos to the officer named on the notice and ask for a re-inspection or a written closure.

If the notice is for an estate or a rental you do not live in, the executor or owner is still who the notice is addressed to. Our estate cleanouts, property cleanouts and trash-outs pages cover those jobs. We price in writing before we start, and every load goes to a permitted gate with a weight ticket. If you are hauling it yourself, where to dump in 2026 has every gate and rate, and illegal dumping penalties covers what not to do with it.

Related guides

Illegal dumping penaltiesIllegal dumping fines: San Joaquin and Sacramento, 2026Free bulky pickups by cityFree bulky item pickup limits by city: Stockton to SacramentoExecutor cleanout checklistExecutor's cleanout checklist: 23 things to find first

Sources

Every fee above is read from the operator's own published sheet and shown with its effective date. Rates change; call the gate before you load a truck around a number.

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