Oakland property owners who ignore city orders to clean up blight could soon face fines of up to $10,000 a day. The City Council on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, approved Councilmember Zac Unger's ordinance raising the city's maximum nuisance penalty, which has been $1,000 a day since 1968.

Why it matters: Vacant buildings left to rot, junked cars leaking oil in front yards and businesses blasting music late into the night are common complaints in Oakland. Unger argues the old cap was so low that some owners treated it as "the cost of doing business."

What changes

  • Up to $2,500 a day for repeated or continuing violations.
  • Up to $10,000 a day for nuisances on real property that remain unfixed after the owner gets notice and a chance to fix them. At that rate, The Oaklandside notes, an owner could rack up $3.65 million in a year.

Tuesday's vote was the first reading. The council agenda says final passage, the second reading, is scheduled for Nov. 10, 2026. The ordinance amends Chapter 1.08 of the Oakland Municipal Code. Oakland voters gave the city authority to go above $1,000 when they passed Measure RR in 2020, written by Unger's District 1 predecessor, Dan Kalb.

Who it targets

Unger said the city will not go after people who leave garbage bins at the curb for a few extra days or let a lawn grow long. "These are the people who get notice after notice after notice from the city, who know exactly what they're doing," he said at the meeting. "Ideally, we would never have to impose these fines," he told The Oaklandside by email, because the threat alone should get people to comply. Property owners can still appeal fines, and the ordinance does not change any other enforcement steps.

A report from Unger's office says San Francisco also caps its daily fine at $1,000, while San Jose and San Diego charge much more, and Los Angeles can fine up to $64,000 a day for a third offense.

Concerns on the council

All of Unger's colleagues eventually backed the plan, but several raised worries. Councilmember Carroll Fife said businesses hit by graffiti and vandalism can end up paying to fix damage they did not cause, and that some entertainment venues in West Oakland and downtown feel enforcement has been racially discriminatory. Councilmember Noel Gallo said the bigger problem is that the city does not go after enough violators or collect what they owe.

Ken Houston, who once ran Oakland's Beautification Council, called the fines "a slap on the hand." Unger defended the city's short-staffed Code Enforcement team and said he would support Houston's push to budget for more enforcement officers next year.

The same council meeting also took up a contested Police Commission appointment; see our story on Jean Quan's nomination.