These are the top 5 reported nuisances in Raleigh (and how to turn in your neighbor)

Got a neighbor who let the front yard grass grow up knee high? Or another one who left old tires or entire vehicles on the lawn? You’re not alone.

The issues range, but Raleigh normally sees anywhere between 2,500 and 3,000 reported nuisances a year that city workers have to address.

Once a report comes in, the city of Raleigh tries to respond within 24 to 48 hours. They send the property owner a notice through certified mail and post a notice on the property itself.

After the notice has been posted, you’ve got 10 days to fix the problem and get into compliance. If you don’t meet that deadline, the city will fix the problem and charge you for it. If you don’t pay, the property owner is ordered to come before the Raleigh City Council for a hearing for a possible lien against the property.

Going back through April, here are the top five reported code violations for public nuisances, plus how to report a violation:

1. Tall grass

If you live in the city of Raleigh and your grass gets higher than 8 inches, you’re in violation of the city’s rules. (Don’t worry, they don’t count ornamental grasses.) There have been more than 700 reported violations of the height limit going back to April. That’s nearly double the city’s second most reported violation.

The numbers rise and fall with the weather, so there is an increase in grass violations in the summer. And you don’t want the city to charge you for mowing your yard. There’s a $175 administrative fee plus hourly staff and equipment costs that can quickly add up.

2. Trash and junk

One of the shortest violations in the city’s rules for nuisances states “any junk or any concentration of litter” is a hazard. And that’s what a lot of people have reported. There were 387 violations reported since April in the City of Oaks. Despite our desire to call things we don’t like junk, according to the city, junk includes furniture, machinery, tires and automotive parts that are at least partially rusted, dismantled, wrecked or can’t move.

The definition of litter runs the gamut from discarded man-made materials (commonly called trash) and construction materials all the way to hazardous waste and discarded material from medical operations.

3. Couch in the yard

Number three is furniture, including appliances, in the yard or on the porch. The city rules spell out those items as household or office furniture, household fixtures, appliances and metal products of any kind not designed to withstand the elements or for outdoor use. There were 291 violations reports going back to April.

The rules do make some exceptions for outdoor furniture. They state patio and lawn furniture is allowed and furniture is allowed on a “totally enclosed porch having a roof, walls, screens or glass windows.”

4. Sticks and branches

If you got a pile of sticks or branches piling up in your yard, technically you’re in violation of the city’s rules. Same goes for a tree that might have fallen from a storm or been cut down. Wait too long to clear it and you might be in violation. And any unhealthy plants or trees have to be removed or altered within 15 days of notice. So get rid of those dead plants you forgot to water.

There were 249 reports of piles of branches or sticks going back to April.

5. Sidewalks and gutters

There were nearly 200 reports of sidewalks and curb gutters that were not cleared. The complaints can range from trees and plants that have fallen onto the sidewalk to branches caught in a storm drain.

Sometimes people complain about sidewalk paths that aren’t connected or when chunks of sidewalk have broken up, cracked or have holes in them.

What about those junk cars?

The city has separate rules about junk vehicles and unlicensed vehicles.

There were a handful of reports about vehicles where parts were jagged or had sharp edges of glass or metal or where vehicles were jacked up on stilts and in danger of falling. The city says you’re in violation of Raleigh’s rules if you have more than two unlicensed, uninspected, wrecked or partially dismantled vehicles on your property. There were more than 80 of this type of vehicles reported since April.

What else gets reported?

Other violations on the list for the past few months include shrubs or other plants invading the sidewalk, construction materials piling up, animal waste or rotten food scraps left in the yard and vines creeping over onto a neighbor’s property.

And there were more than 40 reports of conditions that allow rodents or other pests to breed.

How to report a nuisance or violation

There are a couple of different ways you can report a possible violation to the City of Raleigh. You can submit a problem online through SeeClickFix, an application that cities such as Raleigh use for people to report all kinds of problems, or online through the city’s website at raleighnc.seamlessdocs.com/f/CodeEnforcement. You can also call the city at 919-996-2444. You can be anonymous or you can leave your name and the city will let you know what action is being taken.

Unrelated to the city of Raleigh, you can submit problems with state roads to the North Carolina Department of Transportation online at www.ncdot.gov/contact.

This story was originally published July 26, 2018 at 4:55 PM.