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

Section 4.42 defines the rules for garage sales held anywhere in the city. Sales are allowed on any lot with a one-family, two-family, or multiple-family dwelling, or any lot holding a use permitted in a residential district, but the sale must be conducted solely on that one lot. Items for sale cannot be displayed in the front yard setback, and nothing connected with the sale can sit closer than fifteen feet from a public sidewalk. Hours are fixed at 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on the days shown on the license; running the sale earlier or later is itself a separate violation.

Duration is capped at four consecutive days, and everything must be concluded, meaning no more selling, displaying, or trading of goods, by 9:00 p.m. of that fourth day. Every sale requires a license from the City Clerk, tied to the city's permanent parcel index number assigned by the Macomb County Treasurer's Land File Division under P.A. 101 of 1965 (MCL 211.252), and the license fee follows the schedule adopted by City Council. The Clerk cannot issue a license until certifying the application meets the four-consecutive-day duration limit in Section 4.42(D), and, critically, the Clerk is barred from issuing more than two garage sale licenses to the same parcel number in any calendar year, which is what fixes the twice-a-year cap.