ST PETERSBURG, Fla. — Thousands of St. Petersburg homeowners have an open city code case against their homes.

City officials say these are properties that were identified through damage assessments as a way for the city to monitor compliance with city code and FEMA regulations.

However, this has angered homeowners like Kevin Batdorf who say the open code cases on homes could impact their value on the market.

“The city opened code cases on every home in the high hazard area, every home whether it flooded or not. Does this cause a stigma for properties? Absolutely,” Batdorf said.

Batdorf is the president of the Shore Acres Civic Association and a realtor. He says the city didn’t properly notify residents, saying it was only discovered when a title agent flagged the case for a pending sale while searching Liens. He worries this could hurt home sales.

“Some buyers that may not be as savvy as others are going to look at that and not go through with the transaction, they are going to wonder why is this open code case on this property and if they don’t have a professional telling them what it is. They are just going to go onto the next property,” Batdorf said.

St. Pete officials say an active code case does not impact the ability to transfer to a new owner and says a violation notice would only be issued if work is completed at a property without first obtaining the required permits.

A spokesperson said in part in a statement: “The goal throughout this process is to be proactive and assist residents with taking the right steps to comply with these requirements.”