DeKalb County, GA Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Section 18-38 sits in the Weeds, Junk, Etc. Prohibited article of the county's property-maintenance code, which applies only to the unincorporated area; residents of Decatur, Dunwoody, Brookhaven, Tucker, Stonecrest, Chamblee, Doraville, Clarkston, Avondale Estates, Lithonia, Pine Lake and Stone Mountain follow their own city codes instead. Subsection (a) sets the general duty: keep property free of weeds and underbrush that create a health menace, fire hazard or unsafe or unsanitary condition, along with trash, garbage or inoperable vehicles. Subsection (c) supplies the numeric standard at issue here: weeds or grass within 150 feet of any building or structure cannot exceed 12 inches in height.

Enforcement runs through the chief of police, who under Section 18-61 may inspect during normal work hours with the owner's consent or an inspection warrant issued by a DeKalb magistrate or Superior/State Court judge on a showing of probable cause. A first violation is punished under the general penalty in Section 18-67(a), a fine and/or imprisonment set by Section 1-10, with each day the violation continues counting as a separate offense. Section 18-67(c) adds a specific escalation for this subsection: on a third or subsequent conviction for violating Section 18-38(c), the court may order the county to cut and remove the overgrown vegetation itself at public expense if the owner refuses or cannot be located after reasonable search.

The full cost of that county-performed cutting becomes a lien against the property under Section 18-70(d), collected by the tax commissioner the same way as delinquent ad valorem property taxes, with interest and penalties accruing 30 days after the lien attaches.