Cleveland, OH Garage & Yard Sales: Frequency, Duration & Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Cleveland Codified Ord. § 676B.04
- Annual limit
- 3 sales per residential premises/year
- Max duration
- 4 consecutive days per sale
- Permitted hours
- 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
- Minimum fine
- $100 mandatory, non-suspendable
Summary
Cleveland caps residential garage and yard sales at three per property per year under Codified Ordinances § 676B.04, with each sale limited to four consecutive days and hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. A fourth sale in the same year needs sign-off from the Director of Public Safety and the ward's City Councilmember.
(a) No garage or other residential personal property sales shall be permitted except between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., nor shall exceed more than four (4) consecutive days in duration. (b) No more than three (3) garage or other residential personal property sales shall be conducted or permitted on or at a residential premises, as defined by Section 676B.01, during any year unless permitted by the Director of Public Safety or the Director's designee after obtaining the approval of the City Councilmember for that ward.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-28: Current through legislation passed September 1, 2026).
Full Breakdown
01 as the sale of personal property acquired in the normal course of living in or maintaining a residence. 02 limits what can be sold: only personal property, not merchandise brought in for resale. 04's general regulations set the operating rules that give the ordinance its teeth. , and no single sale may last more than four consecutive days. A residential premises, counted per property, not per household, is limited to three such sales in any calendar year; a fourth requires special permission from the Director of Public Safety or a designee, granted only after the City Councilmember representing that ward signs off.
04(c) closes an obvious loophole: a sale run by someone other than the owner, lessee, manager, occupant or their agent, for example, a resale company staging sales at multiple addresses, still counts toward that property's three-sale annual cap. 03 are narrow, covering only court-ordered sales conducted by an officer executing legal process. Because the ordinance is tied to the property rather than a permit application, homeowners do not file paperwork for their first three sales each year; they simply must self-track the hours, duration and count.
Violations & Fines
Running a fourth sale without the Public Safety Director's approval, exceeding the four-day duration, or selling outside the 10 a.m.–6 p.m. window violates §§ 676B.04 and 676B.05. Section 676B.99 makes a violation a minor misdemeanor carrying a mandatory fine of at least $100 that a court cannot suspend, and each day the violation continues counts as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Cleveland
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