Farmington Hills, MI

Farmington Hills caps noxious weeds and lawn grass at 8 inches above ground level near subdivisions, condominiums and major roads under Code Sec. 17-27. The city can cut violating lots…

Public utilities in Farmington Hills need the city manager's permission to trim trees in streets, alleys, parks and public places to protect overhead lines, and normally must give the…

Farmington Hills controls all trees within street rights-of-way and parks. An abutting property owner needs written permission from the director of public services before pruning…

Rainwater harvesting is legal and encouraged in Oakland County. The Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner's RainSmart Rebates program pays homeowners in southeast Oakland County…

Oakland County actively promotes native Michigan plants through the RainSmart Rebates program. Qualifying rain gardens must be at least 75 square feet and consist of at least 75%…

When the city manager declares a snow emergency for falling or forecast snow, sleet or freezing rain, parking is banned on the affected streets until the emergency ends. Vehicles left…

Farmington Hills lets any building, structure or improved area set aside parking spaces reserved for charging electric vehicles, but every reserved space must carry a city-approved…

Farmington Hills bans outdoor storage of unlicensed RVs, boats, campers and trailers in residential zones unless kept inside a fully enclosed building. Recreational equipment that…

Farmington Hills bans storing junk or inoperative vehicles on residential property outside a completely enclosed building under Code Sec. 17-52(a)(1). A vehicle unlicensed or…

Oakland County has no county-level street parking ordinance. State law MCL 257.674 (Michigan Vehicle Code) sets baseline prohibitions on all Oakland streets: no parking within 15 feet…

Michigan regulates nonconsensual towing through the Michigan Vehicle Code, 1949 PA 300. MCL 257.252k makes an owner or lessor of private real property post a sign at every vehicular…

Farmington Hills requires owners of every residential occupancy to install smoke alarms per the 2012 International Fire Code, adds a hallway alarm mandate beyond that code, and forces…

Farmington Hills bans open burning citywide except for exemptions listed in Sec. 12-14, and single-family homeowners are covered by one of them: charcoal cookers, grills, outdoor…

Farmington Hills makes it unlawful to cause, permit or maintain any open burning of any substance unless the fire fits one of eight narrow exemptions carved out in Sec. 12-14, from…

Under the Michigan Fireworks Safety Act (MCL 28.451-28.471), consumer fireworks are legal statewide but Oakland County cities and townships may restrict use except on certain protected…

Michigan requires plan review and a state certificate from LARA's Bureau of Fire Services Storage Tank Division before installing any LP-gas system with a single 2,000-gallon tank, a…

City Code § 6-5 makes it unlawful to keep or harbor any dog, cat, bird, or other animal whose loud or habitual barking, howling, yelping, or calling causes serious annoyance to the…

Farmington Hills caps outdoor sound at fixed decibel levels that vary by zoning district and time of day, from a nighttime residential ceiling of 50 dB(A) up to 70 dB(A) anytime in…

Farmington Hills caps measurable noise at 50 decibels between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. in residential districts, 55 dB from 7 to 10 p.m., and 60 dB from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., under the zoning…

Farmington Hills bars construction noise louder than the area's normal ambient level outside 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., under City Code Sec. 18-164(a). Sunday and legal-holiday…

Farmington Hills prohibits playing musical instruments, phonographs, radios, televisions, tape players or any other sound-amplification device so loudly it unreasonably annoys or…

Farmington Hills bans operating a parked or moving vehicle's stereo, speakers or similar sound equipment loud enough to be heard or felt as vibration from 50 feet away on a street…

Michigan's Aeronautics Code preempts local regulation of aircraft operations and noise, leaving control over aircraft noise to state and federal authorities under MCL 259.1 et seq.

Section 6-36 caps most Farmington Hills households at three dogs and three cats six months or older at any one time. Licensed pet shops, kennels, and veterinary hospitals are exempt…

City Code §§ 6-10 and 6-11 make it a civil infraction to feed pigeons, gulls, or Canada geese in groups of six or more, or to leave feed accessible to deer, anywhere in Farmington…

City Code § 6-34 requires every dog to stay confined on its owner's property at all times unless it is on a suitable leash, inside a leash-free area of a public dog park, secured in a…

City Code § 6-4 bars keeping any animal or fowl, including backyard chickens, within 175 feet of any dwelling other than the owner's, and bans letting them run at large. Household pets…

Oakland County does not ban any dog breed. Dangerous-dog determinations are made under MCL 287.321 et seq. based on individual behavior, biting a person or attacking another dog, not…

Michigan's Large Carnivore Act (MCL 287.1101 et seq.) bans private ownership of lions, tigers, cougars, leopards, cheetahs, panthers, jaguars, and bears statewide: directly enforceable…

Michigan sets no statewide beekeeper license or registration. Under the Apiary Law, 1976 PA 412, MDARD runs voluntary hive inspections and holds standby authority to quarantine bee…

Farmington Hills does not write its own numeric pool-fence dimensions. Sec. 28-30 instead folds pool barrier requirements into the State of Michigan Construction Codes that the city…

Building a swimming pool in Farmington Hills without first getting building, electrical, and plumbing permits from the building division is unlawful. The application must include…

Oakland County home bakers, jam makers, and other cottage food operators are governed by Michigan's Cottage Food Law (MCL 289.4102), administered by MDARD. Sales are capped at…

Michigan law (MCL 125.3206) requires every Oakland County township and county zoning ordinance to treat a state-licensed family child care home (1-6 children) as a permitted…

Michigan has never created a microenterprise home kitchen permit. The word "microenterprise" returns zero results in a full-text search of the Michigan Compiled Laws, and the only…

Every STR booking of less than 30 days in Oakland County is subject to Michigan's 6% Use Tax under the Use Tax Act (MCL 205.93a). Oakland County does not impose a separate…

Oakland County has no county-wide fence height ordinance; rules are set by each city, village, or township. Suburban municipalities typically cap residential fences at six feet in…

Oakland County municipalities universally prohibit barbed wire, razor wire, and electrified fences in residential zones. Front-yard fences must commonly be 'ornamental' (wrought iron…

Michigan's Residential Code (adopted statewide) requires a building permit for any detached accessory structure larger than 200 square feet. Sheds 200 sq ft or smaller are exempt from…

Outdoor festivals qualify as licensed "special events" under City Code § 5-102, requiring a city clerk license before setup under § 5-121. Food and beverage vendors also need a…

Any group of 100 or more people planning to gather in a Farmington Hills city park must notify the city manager and get approval first under City Code § 19-64. The rule applies to any…

Farmington Hills classifies a block party as a licensed "special event" under City Code § 5-102, so no resident may close a street or host one without a city clerk-issued license under…

Owners of single-family rental homes in Farmington Hills must register every rental with the Planning and Community Development Department before it is rented, under City Code § 7-343…

Farmington Hills holds every single-family rental to the Property Maintenance Code it adopted in Chapter 7, and City Code § 7-350 spells out when that standard triggers an interior…

Oakland County has no rent control or rent stabilization. Michigan law (MCL 123.411) explicitly bars every county, city, township, and village in the state from enacting or enforcing…

Oakland County has no county-wide just-cause eviction ordinance. Landlord-tenant disputes in Royal Oak, Troy, Farmington Hills, Southfield, Pontiac, and every other Oakland County…

Before evicting, a Michigan landlord must serve the correct written demand: 7 days for nonpayment of rent, 7 days for serious health hazards, extensive damage, or physical violence…

Michigan has no statute requiring a landlord to give advance notice before entering a rented unit. A tenant's protection comes instead from the lease terms and from MCL 600.2918, which…

Either party may end a Michigan estate at will or month-to-month tenancy by giving one month's notice. When rent is payable at intervals shorter than three months, the notice need only…

Michigan's Landlord-Tenant Act caps a residential security deposit at one and one-half months' rent. A landlord who keeps any of the deposit for damages must mail the tenant an…

Michigan requires 15 years of adverse possession before a squatter can claim title to land. Under MCL 600.5801 the owner's action to recover land is barred after 15 years in most…

Farmington Hills places sidewalk repair squarely on the abutting property owner. Owners may not let a sidewalk fall into disrepair or become unsafe, and if the city manager finds one…

Anyone placing an obstruction, structure, or installation in a Farmington Hills street or public right-of-way must first get a right-of-way permit from the director of public services…

Property owners and occupants abutting a Farmington Hills sidewalk must keep it clear of obstructions, including structures, vehicles, materials, debris, and vegetation. If the…

Farmington Hills requires every commercial dumpster to be screened from view of adjacent properties and public streets under City Code Sec. 14-5(f). The director of planning and…

Farmington Hills has required curbside recycling separation since July 1, 1991 under City Code Sec. 14-6. Owners, lessees and occupants must sort recyclables into the city-owned…

Since July 1, 1991, Farmington Hills has required owners of detached single-family homes to either handle yard waste on their own property without creating a nuisance or separate it…

Farmington Hills bans burying, dumping or using solid, hazardous or industrial special waste as fill anywhere in the city, prohibits dumping any of it into a lake or stream, and…

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…

Oakland County does not run countywide trash collection. Refuse service is provided by each of the 62 cities, villages, and townships either directly or through one of two regional…

Farmington Hills requires a city-issued massage therapy establishment license for every separate office or place of business under Code Sec. 16-16, plus therapist licensing under Sec…

Any hookah, vape or tobacco lounge operating in Farmington Hills needs a smoking lounge license under City Code § 8-45 before it opens. The definitions in § 8-42 sweep e-cigarettes and…

Anyone dealing in junk or operating a junkyard in Farmington Hills needs a license under City Code § 23-46, approved by the city council after review and certified by the police chief…

Farmington Hills bars a parked or standing commercial truck or tractor-trailer from running its engine audibly on adjacent residential property for more than 20 minutes while loading…

Farmington Hills requires one foot of freeboard above the 100-year stormwater elevation in every detention and retention basin, under the Stormwater Engineering Design Standards…

Farmington Hills regulates floodprone land by adopting FEMA's 2006 Oakland County Flood Insurance Study and its Flood Insurance Rate Maps directly into the Michigan Building Code it…

Farmington Hills requires soil erosion and sediment control devices on every site under construction, per the Stormwater Engineering Design Standards the city adopted by reference in…

Farmington Hills bans discharging anything but stormwater into its municipal storm drain system under the city's illicit discharge elimination program. City Code Sec. 33-306 prohibits…

Michigan's Part 323 NREPA preempts local coastal rules in designated high-risk erosion, flood-risk, and environmental areas along the Great Lakes.

Farmington Hills requires door-to-door solicitors for charitable, religious, or political groups to register free with the city clerk under § 20-3, while peddlers selling goods or…

Posting a compliant 'no soliciting' or 'no peddling' sign at a Farmington Hills home or subdivision entrance legally bars peddlers and solicitors from that property under City Code §…

Farmington Hills bars standing or idling in or about a store or business when it interferes with normal operations or blocks pedestrians and vehicles, under City Code Sec. 18-171. No…

Farmington Hills makes it illegal for an adult in control of a residence to let minors possess or consume alcohol or drugs at an "open house party" when the adult knew or should have…

Farmington Hills requires anyone under sixteen to wear a protective safety helmet while skateboarding, biking, or roller-blading on any public right-of-way, roadway, sidewalk, bicycle…

Farmington Hills makes it unlawful to loiter, remain or wander in a public place for aggressive begging, defined to include touching a person, blocking their path, following them after…

Farmington Hills bans bringing, possessing, or drinking alcoholic liquor anywhere in a city park under City Code § 19-49. The prohibition covers every public park in the city with no…

Farmington Hills closes every public park between sunset and the following sunrise under City Code § 19-50. Anyone who willfully enters or stays in a park after dark violates the…

Farmington Hills bars minors under 12 from public streets and places between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. unless accompanied by a parent or delegated adult, and bars minors under 16 from…

Farmington Hills lets apartment, townhouse and condo residents keep charcoal or gas grills only on the ground level, at least eight feet from the building, and bans them outright on…

Farmington Hills bars outdoor light fixtures from spilling illumination beyond the property line onto neighboring land. Section 17-106(b)(9) makes light trespass a code violation and…

Farmington Hills requires every outdoor light fixture in the city to be a fully shielded luminaire, keeping light from spilling upward into the night sky. Section 17-106 defines…

Farmington Hills bans peddling and soliciting within any public right-of-way, including sidewalks, street corners, and driveways, under City Code § 20-15. The only carve-outs are…

Mobile food vendors operating anywhere in Oakland County must hold a Michigan Food Law license issued by the Oakland County Health Division (OCHD) - either a Mobile Food Establishment…

Farmington Hills does not run its own building code. City Code § 7-26 has the city assume administration and enforcement of the State of Michigan Construction Codes under the 1972…

Farmington Hills has opted out of the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act entirely: Section 18-9 prohibits every type of marihuana establishment anywhere within city…

Adults 21+ in Oakland County may cultivate up to 12 marihuana plants per household for personal use under Michigan MCL 333.27955, provided plants are not visible from public places and…

Farmington Hills' anti-blight article, Code Sec. 17-52, bans a list of blighting conditions on residential property, including uninhabitable fire- or storm-damaged structures, and lets…

Michigan's natural accumulation doctrine generally protects property owners from slip-and-fall liability for snow on adjacent sidewalks, while leaving local snow-clearing ordinances…

Farmington Hills requires every property to keep accumulated solid waste in containers that are tightly covered and animal-proof and rodent-proof, and sturdy enough to handle without…

Farmington Hills inspects every registered single-family rental at least once every three years under City Code § 7-348, part of the Single-Family Rental Dwellings program adopted in…

HOA and condo assessments in Oakland County are levied under the association's bylaws and (for condos) the Michigan Condominium Act. Unpaid assessments, together with interest, late…

Architectural review in Oakland County HOAs (Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Northville, Novi, Rochester Hills, etc.) is driven by the association's recorded declaration of CC&Rs and any…

CC&Rs in Oakland County subdivisions and condominium projects (recorded at the Oakland County Register of Deeds, 1200 N. Telegraph Rd., Pontiac) run with the land and bind successive…

Oakland County HOA and condo disputes are resolved in the 6th Judicial Circuit Court (Oakland County Circuit Court, Pontiac) for amounts above the small-claims and district-court…

Michigan's Condominium Act gives co-owners a records right and almost nothing else on meeting mechanics. MCL 559.157(1) makes the books, records, contracts and financial statements…

Michigan's Homeowners' Energy Policy Act, 2024 PA 68, took effect April 2, 2025 and made any homeowners' association provision that bans an "energy-saving improvement or modification"…

Michigan protects home EV charging through the Homeowners' Energy Policy Act, 2024 PA 68, which took effect April 2, 2025. MCL 559.303(c)(ix) counts "electric vehicle supply equipment"…

Michigan's flag protection is one sentence long and narrower than most. MCL 559.156a bars a developer or association of co-owners from prohibiting a co-owner from displaying a single…

The Michigan Condominium Act lets associations levy fines, but only after due process. Under MCL 559.206 a condo association may impose late charges and, after notice and a hearing…

A Michigan condominium association can foreclose its assessment lien by advertisement, meaning it never has to file a lawsuit, but MCL 559.208(3) bars it from starting until it records…

Michigan runs the opposite way from states that shield owners who rent. MCL 559.212(1) of the Condominium Act says that after the transitional control date the association of co-owners…

Recreational drone use in Oakland County is governed by federal law (49 USC 44809 and FAA Part 107 where applicable). Michigan state law (MCL 259.305) preempts every Oakland County…

Commercial drone work in Oakland County, real estate photography in Bloomfield Hills, roof inspections in Troy, construction progress shoots in Auburn Hills, wedding video in…

Film productions in Oakland County must comply with the host municipality's noise ordinance: there is no countywide noise standard. Charter Township of Oakland (Ch. 274) prohibits any…

Michigan minimum wage is set by the Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act (PA 337 of 2018). The Local Labor Regulatory Limitation Act (PA 105 of 2015, MCL §123.1381+) preempts local…

Michigan preempts local paid leave ordinances; statewide paid sick leave is governed by the Earned Sick Time Act under MCL 408.961.

Michigan's Local Government Labor Regulatory Limitation Act preempts local predictive scheduling and fair workweek ordinances under MCL 123.1387.

Michigan issues Concealed Pistol Licenses (CPLs) under MCL 28.425 series, with statewide rules that local governments cannot override or supplement.

Michigan firearms preemption (MCL §123.1101–123.1104) prohibits local units of government from imposing any ordinance, regulation, or policy on the purchase, registration, ownership…

Michigan law under MCL 750.227 makes it a felony to carry a concealed pistol in a vehicle without a valid Concealed Pistol License or other statutory exemption.

Michigan's Gaming Control and Revenue Act reserves commercial casino gaming to cities whose local legislative body passes an ordinance approving it and signs a certified development…

Michigan bars bingo, raffles, charity games, numeral games, and millionaire parties unless a licensed 'qualified organization' runs them under the Traxler-McCauley-Law-Bowman Bingo…

Michigan's penal code makes no exception for private, social, or "friendly" gambling. MCL 750.301 criminalizes accepting money contingent on an uncertain event's outcome: full stop…

Michigan legalized internet sports betting under the Lawful Sports Betting Act, but the Michigan Gaming Control Board can license only two kinds of operators: existing commercial…

Michigan does not run sobriety checkpoints, and the reason is unusual. Michigan's own checkpoint programme was the one the United States Supreme Court upheld under the Fourth Amendment…

Michigan has no statute granting an express right to film police, and no statute forbidding it either. What governs is the 1966 eavesdropping chapter of the Michigan Penal Code, and…

Michigan has never enacted a general stop-and-identify statute. Nothing in the Michigan Compiled Laws makes it an offence to stand on a sidewalk and decline to give a police officer…

Michigan is one of the few states where the answer to a roadside search question is written into a statute rather than left to case law. Section 5 of the Michigan Regulation and…

Michigan does not legalise golf carts on public streets statewide, and it does not leave the question to every council either. MCL 257.657a switches street use on only where the local…

The Michigan Right to Farm Act (Act 93 of 1981, MCL §286.471 et seq.) provides nuisance protection for qualifying commercial farms following Generally Accepted Agricultural and…

Michigan election law universally prohibits political signs and electioneering within 100 feet of any polling place entrance on Election Day, applying uniformly across all…

Michigan PA 389 of 2016 (MCL 445.572b) prohibits local governments from banning, taxing, or regulating plastic bags and other auxiliary containers.

Since April 2, 2025, Michigan's Homeowners' Energy Policy Act (2024 PA 68, MCL 559.301 to 559.317) makes any provision of a homeowners' association agreement that prohibits or has the…

Michigan set the minimum age to buy, possess, or use tobacco and vapor products at 21 through PA 167 of 2022, which amended the Youth Tobacco Act (MCL 722.641), aligning with federal…

Michigan currently has no statewide ban on flavored tobacco or vape products; an attempted 2019 emergency ban was struck down in court.

Michigan runs a closed list rather than a list of banned colors. MCL 257.698(4) provides that unless a lamp is both covered and unlit, a vehicle on Michigan highways must not carry a…

Michigan sets no measured windshield zone for a camera and no sticker size limit. What it regulates is the screen. MCL 257.708b(1) prohibits operating a motor vehicle with a television…

Michigan bans lane splitting in plain words. MCL 257.660(5) says a person operating a motorcycle, moped, low-speed vehicle, electric personal assistive mobility device or electric…

Michigan does not regulate license plate covers by naming them. It regulates the result. MCL 257.225(2) requires that the plate be maintained free from foreign materials that obscure…

Radar detectors are legal in a private vehicle in Michigan, and the state says so in the statute rather than by silence. MCL 750.508 restricts carrying a police-frequency radio…

Michigan does not run a studded tire season the way its neighbours do. MCL 257.710(b) forbids operating on a highway any tire carrying a block, stud, flange, cleat, spike or other…

Michigan does not set a visible light transmission percentage for any window. MCL 257.709(1)(a) instead bans film outright on the front windshield and on the side windows and sidewings…