Royal Oak, MI Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Under City of Royal Oak City Code § 556-4K, which amends Section 303.11 of the International Property Maintenance Code, no owner or tenant of residential property may authorize, maintain, or permit outside security lighting that shines upon or onto any adjoining residential property. The rule reaches beyond floodlights: even an incandescent fixture without a reflecting surface rated at 75 watts or less is covered if it unreasonably shines onto a neighbor's yard and interferes with that neighbor's enjoyment of the property. Any resident who installs outside security lighting must shield it so the beam does not cross the property line onto an adjoining residential lot.

The code carves out a narrow exception for low-wattage incandescent fixtures without a reflector, but that exception evaporates in two situations: when multiple such fixtures are clustered within a ten-foot radius so their combined wattage exceeds 75 watts, or when even a single low-wattage fixture unreasonably intrudes on a neighbor's enjoyment of their property. Community Development's Code Enforcement Division, which administers the Property Maintenance Code citywide, investigates light-trespass complaints under the same chapter that also governs junk storage, loading-area lighting, and exterior maintenance, Chapter 556.

Because the standard turns on where the light lands rather than on fixture wattage alone, a homeowner installing a motion-activated floodlight near a shared fence line in Royal Oak should aim and shield it before a neighbor's complaint reaches the Building Department.