5 rules for unincorporated Howard County, Maryland.
Verified from official government sources
Howard County does not supply trash containers. Reusable cans must be metal or tough plastic with handles and watertight, well-fitting lids; each item must weigh under 40 pounds. Residents set cans out only around collection day.
Howard County DPW Trash Collection guidelines
Reusable containers must be made of metal or tough plastic, equipped with handles and watertight, well-fitting lids.
Howard County has no separate 'blight' statute; instead the Health Code treats a property maintained in a condition that threatens health, including junk and improper refuse disposal, as an abatable nuisance countywide.
Howard County Code Sec. 12.110
A nuisance occurs on property when the person who owns or rents the property: (i) Maintains the property in a condition that poses an actual or potential threat to health.
Howard County regulates vacant lots through its Health Code nuisance rule. A vacant parcel that harbors vermin, accumulated refuse, or other health hazards is an abatable nuisance the Health Officer can order cleaned up.
Howard County Code Sec. 12.110
A nuisance includes water pollution, contaminated wells, open and abandoned wells, overflowing sewage, infestation with insects, vermin or rodents, unclean facilities for domestic animals and poultry, air pollution, improper refuse disposal.
Howard County requires no license or permit for an occasional residential yard or garage sale. Such sales are treated as a permitted accessory use of a home; only temporary sign placement and traffic-safety rules apply.
Howard County sets no countywide maximum lawn height for owner-occupied homes. Overgrowth is enforced only where it becomes a health nuisance (vermin, refuse). Rental housing must meet the adopted International Property Maintenance Code.
Howard County Code Sec. 3.700(a)
The International Property Maintenance Code, 2024, as published by the International Code Council is hereby adopted as the Howard County Property Maintenance Code For Rental Housing.
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