Gilroy, CA Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Gilroy adopted the 2024 International Property Maintenance Code by reference in City Code section 6.6 and amended it in section 6.7(i). Amendment (38) rewrites IPMC section 309.1, Infestation, to require that all structures in the city be kept free from insect, rodent, vermin or other infestations. When Community Development's code official receives a complaint or otherwise learns of an infestation, the official can direct the owner or the owner's authorized agent to retain a licensed exterminator or other qualified pest professional to inspect the property and deliver a written report documenting the presence and severity of the problem, including a recommendation for extermination.

Any structure or area found infested must be treated promptly using extermination methods that will not harm human health, and the code official can demand written confirmation from the exterminator once treatment succeeds. Amendment (39) rewrites IPMC section 309.2, Owner, and places the extermination duty squarely on property owners: a structure must be pest-free before it is rented or leased, and owners of dwellings, multiple-occupancy buildings, rooming houses and nonresidential structures stay responsible for keeping the premises rodent- and pest-free throughout the tenancy. If an occupant's own failure to keep their space clean substantially causes the infestation, the owner is relieved of the repair duty for as long as that occupant conduct continues.

Where a structural defect, a gap, a broken screen, a rotted wall, is what let pests in, the owner must fix the defect and pay for the extermination. The rule sits alongside section 304.16, which requires under-floor vents and access doors to be screened with corrosion-resistant mesh no coarser than one-quarter inch specifically to keep rodents out.