Dearborn Heights, MI Garage & Yard Sales: Frequency, Duration & Permits (2026)

Chapter 25, Article IV of the City Code, Residential Sale of Secondhand Goods, defines and limits home sales events in the City of Dearborn Heights. Sec. 25-100(a) sweeps in basement sales, garage sales, rummage sales, yard sales, attic sales, flea market sales and lawn sales, covering any sale of new, used, secondhand, damaged or discarded personal property, from clothing and household effects to tools, garden implements, toys and recreation equipment, that is advertised so the public at large can find out about it. Sec. 25-100(b) then sets the frequency limit: a covered sale cannot run more than three consecutive days, and a residence cannot host more than two such sales within any one calendar year.

The same subsection regulates the signs advertising the sale: no sign may go on public property, a utility pole, or private property without the owner's express consent, and every sign has to come down within 24 hours after the sale ends. The ordinance was adopted by Ord. No. H-91-3 in 1991 and sits outside the zoning code, so it applies regardless of the residential zoning district. Because the residential sale rules fall under Chapter 25, which is classified Class D under Sec. 1-11(e), running a sale beyond the three-day, two-per-year limits, or leaving sale signs up past 24 hours, exposes a homeowner to a municipal civil infraction fine of $250 for a first offense, rising to $500 and then $1,000 for repeat offenses within a year.