Farmington Hills, MI Property Maintenance: Garage Sale Rules (2026)

Farmington Hills does not have a dedicated garage-sale ordinance and does not require any City permit for an occasional residential yard sale of household items. (1) Permit — The City Clerk's Permits/Licenses page (fhgov.com/department-and-services/city-clerk/permitslicenses) expressly states that 'A special event permit is not required for garage/yard sales at private residences.' Chapter 22 (Sales) of the Code of Ordinances governs auctions, going-out-of-business sales, and certain commercial sales activities, but does not subject occasional residential yard sales to a permit requirement. (2) Frequency — The Code does not impose a fixed annual cap on residential garage sales, but a recurring or commercial-scale sales operation would not qualify as a residential garage sale and could trigger Chapter 34 home-occupation review (the Common Zoning Ordinances page cites Sec. 34-4.15 Home occupations). (3) Signs — Chapter 34 regulates temporary signs in a content-neutral way (per Reed v. Town of Gilbert, 576 U.S. 155 (2015)). A garage-sale sign on the host's own residential lot is allowed without a City sign permit. Off-premise signs in the City's public right-of-way may be removed by City staff; signs in MDOT rights-of-way may be removed by MDOT under the Highway Advertising Act of 1972 (MCL 252.301 et seq.). (4) Parking and traffic — Garage-sale traffic must not block fire lanes, hydrants, mailboxes, or create sight-distance hazards under Chapter 26 (Streets) and Chapter 19 (Vehicles and Traffic). (5) Michigan sales tax — Casual occasional sales of personal household items by an individual not in the business of selling are not subject to Michigan sales-tax registration under the Michigan General Sales Tax Act (Act 167 of 1933, MCL 205.51 et seq.) and Michigan Department of Treasury guidance. (6) HOAs — Many Farmington Hills subdivision and condominium associations impose private CC&R rules on yard sales (frequency, hours, signage); those are enforced privately under the Michigan Condominium Act (MCL 559.101 et seq.) for condos and general contract law for HOAs.