Gulfport, MS Business Licensing & Operations: Auto Repair on Residential Property (2026)

Section 302.8.1 of the 2018 International Property Maintenance Code, as amended by the city, states that vehicles under repair in a residential zoning classification must be registered to a resident of the home or dwelling where the work happens, or to an immediate family member of that resident. The Department of Urban Development, which stands in for the code's "code official" citywide under Section 103.1, enforces the provision. A property owner who repairs vehicles belonging to customers or unrelated third parties out of a residential garage or driveway is out of compliance, and the rule does not carve out a home-based auto-repair business; running one legally requires appropriate commercial zoning and a business license under Chapter 5, not this residential exception.

Violations of Chapter 3 (which houses the Property Maintenance Code) are treated as strict-liability offenses under Section 106.3, and Section 106.4.1 authorizes a $250 civil fine for each violation, with every additional day of noncompliance counted as a separate offense. An owner can appeal by filing a Notice of Appeal with the City Clerk at 1410 24th Avenue within seven days of the fine or notice under Section 111.2; a hearing officer, typically the Chief Administrative Officer, decides the appeal, and a further appeal to the City Council requires a written notice and a $50 filing fee within ten days of that decision.