5 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Oakland County, Michigan.
Verified from official government sources
Oakland County has no countywide refuse-container ordinance — rules are set by each of its 62 cities, villages, and townships. Across the largest jurisdictions the pattern is consistent: carts and bags must be placed at the curb no earlier than the evening before pickup (typically after 5:00 p.m. or 6:00 p.m.) and no later than 7:00 a.m. on the collection day, and emptied containers must be removed from the right-of-way the same day. Royal Oak limits each container to 20–32 gallons and 60 pounds; bags cap at 30 gallons and 40 pounds. Most communities prohibit storing bins in the front yard between collection days and require enclosure behind the front building line. Violations are municipal civil infractions with fines starting around $50–$100 per occurrence.
City of Royal Oak Code Chapter 633 (Solid Waste) — set-out, weight and removal rules; representative of practice in SOCRRA-member Oakland County communities
All material must be placed at the curb no later than 7:00 a.m. or after 5:00 p.m. the night before your collection day per ordinance. The weight of any refuse bag cannot exceed 40 pounds each, trash container cannot exceed 60 pounds each and yard waste containers cannot exceed 50 pounds. Emptied containers must be removed from the curb as soon as possible after collection.
Oakland County itself does not enforce a countywide blight ordinance — that authority sits with its 62 cities, villages, and charter townships. Most large Oakland County jurisdictions (Bloomfield Township, West Bloomfield, Farmington Hills, Troy, Royal Oak, Birmingham, Oakland Charter Township) have adopted the International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC) as their blight standard. The IPMC and matching local supplements require grass under 8 inches, no inoperable or unregistered vehicles outside a garage, no accumulation of junk or refuse, intact paint and siding, and structurally sound roofs, porches, and stairs. The Oakland County Land Bank Authority handles tax-foreclosed blighted parcels at the county level. Violations are municipal civil infractions starting at $100 and escalating with each occurrence; persistent neglect can lead to abatement at the owner's expense added to the tax bill.
Bloomfield Charter Township Property Maintenance Standards (IPMC as adopted) — representative of practice in Oakland County
Grass has to be kept under eight (8) inches tall, and landscaped areas maintained and free from overgrowth. Pools and pool covers must be kept clean and free of stagnant water. No inoperable or unregistered vehicles are permitted on the property, except in a garage. Exterior building issues such as missing, damaged or rotted boards, sagging roofs, blistered or peeling paint, porch steps and han...
Vacant land and vacant structures in Oakland County are regulated at the city or township level, not by the county. The dominant pattern: vacant lots must be mowed (grass typically kept under 6–8 inches), free of debris, secured against unauthorized entry, and posted with the owner's contact. West Bloomfield Township requires any property vacant or unoccupied for more than 30 days to register with the Township and submit to inspection. The City of Pontiac requires a re-occupancy certificate before any vacant property may be reinhabited under Article VIII of Chapter 22. Most other Oakland County cities (Royal Oak, Troy, Farmington Hills, Bloomfield Township) enforce vacant-lot maintenance through their IPMC-based property-maintenance codes and weed ordinances. Failure to maintain triggers abatement (the city mows the lot and bills the owner) plus civil infraction fines.
Pontiac City Code Chapter 22, Article VIII — Vacant Property Registration and Maintenance
A vacant property shall not be occupied until a re-occupancy certificate has been issued by the Building Safety Division, and all violations have been corrected in accordance with the applicable requirements of the State Construction Code, the International Property Maintenance Code, other codes that are part of the State Construction Code administered and enforced by the city, and all other ap...
Michigan state law (MCL 67.9) authorizes — but does not by itself require — cities to make adjacent property owners clear sidewalks. Each Oakland County municipality decides whether and how to require it. In Troy, owners and occupants must clear snow over 2 inches and any ice from public sidewalks adjacent to their property within 24 hours after snowfall ends. Royal Oak, Birmingham, Berkley, Ferndale, and Madison Heights have similar 24-hour rules; Farmington Hills requires clearing of snow and ice from public sidewalks abutting the property. Across all Oakland County cities it is a separate violation under MCL 257.677a to push snow into the roadway in a way that obstructs visibility — fines up to $100. Snow emergencies declared by a city (Troy's 2024 ordinance requires removal when snowfall exceeds 4 inches) trigger on-street parking bans with fines up to $75.
City of Troy Property Maintenance Code, Chapter 82 (Snow & Ice on Sidewalks)
Building occupants and property owners are responsible for clearing snow over 2 inches deep, and any ice from the public sidewalks adjacent to their property. Snow and ice should be cleared from the sidewalks within 24 hours following the end of the event which led to their accumulation. For single and two family homes where property is addressed to a non-major thoroughfare, side or rear yard s...
Garage-sale rules in Oakland County are set by each city or township, and the pattern varies sharply. Royal Oak requires no permit but bans sign placement in the right-of-way and on utility poles. Oak Park requires a $10 permit from the City Clerk, limits each sale to a maximum of 5 consecutive days, and caps residents at 2 permitted sales per year (with monthly Free Garage Sale Weekends from March–October that waive the permit). Most Oakland County communities also limit duration to 3–5 days, restrict hours to daylight only, and require all signs removed within 24 hours of the sale. Selling new merchandise or operating a continuous business from a residence is treated as an unlicensed home occupation, not a garage sale, and is prohibited.
City of Oak Park Code (Garage Sale Permit Requirements) — representative of permit-required practice in Oakland County
A homeowner or occupant in the City of Oak Park who wishes to hold a garage sale must receive a permit through the City Clerk's Office. The fee is $10. Garage sales are limited to five consecutive days and no more than two garage sales per year. When displaying merchandise for sale, all merchandise must be on personal property and at least three feet away from the sidewalk.
1 cities in Oakland County have their own property maintenance rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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