Kent County, DE Code Violation Reporting: Common Violations (2026)
Key Facts
- Fast-track categories
- Six categories, 48-hour deadline, § 90-3.A
- Covered
- Safety, health, unpermitted structures, hazards
- Also covered
- Smoke detectors and mechanical equipment
- Slow-track
- Ten other Code chapters, 5-30 days
- Extensions
- Granted at County Official's discretion
- Amended
- October 14, 2025 by Ord. No. 25-20
Summary
Kent County Code § 90-3.A groups the violations residents most often report into six categories that must be corrected within 48 hours: safety hazards like missing railings and fencing, health hazards such as stagnant water and rodent infestations, unpermitted construction, hazardous conditions like open pits and failing septic systems, missing smoke detectors, and improperly maintained mechanical equipment such as water heaters and fireplaces.
A. The following categories of violations of provisions set forth in Kent County codes and ordinances will have 48 hours to comply: (1) Safety violation: Public and/or personal safety and welfare, including, but not limited to, all railings, fencing and barrier requirements. (2) Health violation: By way of illustration, a sanitation problem, stagnant water, rodent and or nuisance insect infestation. (3) Structures without permits: Any structure covered by the provisions of the Kent County codes and supplements thereto found to be under construction and/or built, renovated, demolished, placed or altered without a building permit. (4) Hazardous situations: By way of illustration, open pits, wells and septic systems. Structures in imminent danger of collapsing. (5) Smoke detectors: Lack of required operating smoke detectors. (6) Mechanical equipment: Any mechanical equipment, including water heaters, fireplaces and solid-fuel-burning appliances not installed properly and/or maintained in a safe working condition.
Full Breakdown
Amended October 14, 2025 by Ord. No. A of the Kent County Code lists six violation categories that carry a 48-hour compliance clock once cited: (1) safety violations affecting "public and/or personal safety and welfare, including, but not limited to, all railings, fencing and barrier requirements"; (2) health violations such as "a sanitation problem, stagnant water, rodent and or nuisance insect infestation"; (3) structures built, renovated, demolished, placed or altered "without a building permit"; (4) hazardous situations "by way of illustration, open pits, wells and septic systems" and structures "in imminent danger of collapsing"; (5) a lack of required operating smoke detectors; and (6) mechanical equipment, "including water heaters, fireplaces and solid-fuel-burning appliances," that is not properly installed or maintained.
B explains, gets more time: violations of Chapter 101 (Accessory Dwelling Units), 105 (Building Construction), 116 (Drainage), 143 (Housing Standards), 156 (Manufactured Homes), 171 (Parking), 175 (Property Maintenance), 187 (Subdivision and Land Development), 188 (Floodplain Management) and 205 (Zoning) must be remediated within five to 30 days "as deemed appropriate by the designated County Official," with extensions available at that official's discretion. C: certified mail sent, a correction order hand-delivered, or the property posted.
Violations & Fines
Missing the deadline moves the case into ticketing under § 90-8: a first administrative fine of $100, $200 for a second within a year, and $300 for subsequent tickets, doubling if unpaid within 30 days. The Code Official can also issue a cease-and-desist order under § 90-9, and violating that order is a separate misdemeanor punishable by a mandatory minimum $100 fine up to $10,000 or 10 days in jail.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a safety violation in Kent County?
How fast do I have to fix a code violation?
What happens if smoke detectors are missing?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kent County
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