Columbia Defense ordinance (§ 11-232)
Chapter 11: Health and Sanitation · Article VII. Nuisances
In short: If you're charged with allowing or maintaining a nuisance under this division, it's a defense that you had no legal right to control the place where the violation happened.
Our plain-English summary, not the official text or legal advice. The ordinance below is what counts.
It is an affirmative defense to a charge of permitting, maintaining or allowing the creation or maintenance of a nuisance in violation of this division, that the defendant did not have the legal right to control the location where the alleged violation occurred.
Official source: City of Columbia official Code of Ordinances (online): look up Sec. 11-232
Text from Supplement 139 (September 3, 2026).
Last checked November 1, 2026. The city's official copy controls; this page is a reading copy, not legal advice.