Dearborn, MI Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)
Key Facts
- Single-unit dwelling
- occupant exterminates own pests
- One unit infested
- that occupant's duty
- Owner trigger
- building not kept ratproof
- Multi-unit/shared-area infestation
- owner's responsibility
- Penalty
- misdemeanor under § 1-9
Summary
Dearborn assigns pest-control duty by cause: occupants handle infestations confined to their own unit, but the owner is on the hook whenever poor ratproofing or a building-wide infestation is to blame.
Every occupant of a dwelling containing a single dwelling unit shall be responsible for the extermination of any insects, rodents or other pests therein or on the premises; and every occupant of a dwelling unit in a dwelling containing more than one dwelling unit shall be responsible for such extermination whenever his dwelling unit is the only one infested. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, whenever infestation is caused by failure of the owner to maintain a dwelling in a ratproof or reasonably insectproof condition, extermination shall be the responsibility of the owner. Whenever infestation exists in two or more of the dwelling units in any dwelling, or in the shared or public parts of any dwelling containing two or more dwelling units, extermination thereof shall be the responsibility of the owner. (Ord. No. 81-102, § 8.6, 11-4-81)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-07: Code: Updated through: July 22, 2026 | Zoning: Updated through: July 22, 2026).
Full Breakdown
Dearborn Code of Ordinances § 11-156 splits pest-control duty by cause and scope. An occupant of a single-unit dwelling, or a multi-unit occupant whose own unit alone is infested, must exterminate insects, rodents, or other pests themselves. The owner takes over whenever infestation traces to the owner's failure to keep the dwelling ratproof or reasonably insectproof, and whenever infestation spans two or more units or the shared or public parts of a multi-unit building. The rule sits inside Chapter 11's minimum housing standards, enforced through the same inspection authority (§ 11-41) and misdemeanor penalty (§ 11-43) as the rest of the housing code.
Violations & Fines
Failing to control pests as required is a Chapter 11 housing-code violation: a misdemeanor under § 1-9, with each day of continued noncompliance a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who pays to exterminate rats in my Dearborn apartment?
Does Dearborn's pest rule apply to single-family homes too?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Dearborn
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Rodent Control in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Wayne County handle rodent control.