Lansing, MI Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)
Key Facts
- Height limit
- 8 inches
- Correction window
- 7 days from notice
- Enforcement
- Office of Code Compliance
- Fine
- $500 civil infraction
- Unpaid abatement cost
- Becomes a tax lien
Summary
Lansing requires every property to stay free of weeds and grass over 8 inches tall; violations are declared a nuisance the city can abate and bill to the owner.
(w)The first paragraph of Section 302.4 is replaced with the following: All premises shall be maintained free of weeds and of grass eight inches or more in height. ... (i) ... Violations of Section 302.4, prohibiting weeds and long grass, ... are hereby declared to be nuisances and must be corrected or abated within the time allotted and as directed in the Section 107 notice ...
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 64).
Full Breakdown
The Property Maintenance Code, adopted by reference and locally amended at Section 1460.01(w), requires every premises in Lansing to stay free of weeds and grass eight inches or higher. Section 1460.01(i) declares a weeds-and-grass violation a nuisance, and subsection (k) requires the Section 107 notice to demand correction within 7 days. If the owner does not comply, the Office of Code Compliance may enter the property, abate the violation, and bill the cost to the owner, with any unpaid balance becoming a lien on the property placed on the next tax roll.
Violations & Fines
Violating the weed/grass limit is a $500 municipal civil infraction under Section 1460.01(h); unpaid city abatement costs become a lien added to the next property tax roll.
Frequently Asked Questions
How tall can grass get before it violates Lansing's code?
What happens if I don't cut it?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lansing
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