Smyrna, TN Code Violation Reporting: Common Violations (2026)

Chapter 1 of Title 13, Property Maintenance Regulations, is where the Town of Smyrna, Tennessee collects the violations that codes officers see most. Section 13-105 makes it unlawful for the owner or occupant of a building, structure, or property to use the premises for open storage of any abandoned motor vehicle, ice box, refrigerator, stove, glass, building material, building rubbish, or similar items. Section 13-106 makes the owner, agent, or contractor in charge of a construction or demolition site responsible for any accumulation of litter on the site before, during, or after the project.

Vegetation and water conditions are the next group. Section 13-103 makes it unlawful for the owner or tenant of property under five acres to fail to cut grass and weeds, and the violation begins when vegetation reaches a height of one foot or more. Section 13-104 covers overgrown and dirty lots where the growth or accumulated debris endangers health, safety, or welfare or encourages rats and other harmful animals. Section 13-102 forbids letting stagnant water stand without treatment to prevent mosquito breeding, and forbids leaving a swimming pool, spa, or hot tub that contains water unclean, unsanitary, or in disrepair. Section 13-108 gives the town a cleanup-and-lien route for the same pool conditions.

The remaining sections cover air, animals, and premises. Section 13-101 bars the escape of dense smoke, soot, cinders, noxious acids, fumes, dust, or gases in quantities that endanger public health, comfort, and safety. Section 13-107 requires a person with a dead animal not intended for use as food to bury it promptly or notify the Town Clerk and dispose of it as the codes enforcement and inspection division directs. Section 13-109 covers filthy premises, noxious or offensive smells and odors, unwholesome and offensive matter, and the breeding of flies, rodents, or other vermin. In the property maintenance code, Section 12-802 also adds that furniture intended for indoor use shall not be stored or used outdoors.

The codes enforcement and inspection division is the primary enforcer of Section 13-103, and the Police Department can enforce it too. Under that section a citation to municipal court can be issued immediately, and the section states that no advance notice is required before a citation.