Hartford, CT Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Section 9-93B of the Hartford Municipal Code lists the property-maintenance standards that the Division of Blight Remediation enforces. Two of them target rodents directly. Subsection (1)(f) covers land: yards, courts and vacant lots must be kept clean and free of rodent infestations. Subsection (2)(k) covers buildings: buildings and structures must be maintained free of insect, vermin, pigeon and rodent harborage and infestation. A related building standard in (2)(c) requires foundation walls to be kept plumb and free from open cracks and breaks so rodents and other pests cannot enter.

The structure of the ordinance matters. One property-maintenance violation by itself is a property-maintenance violation, but the existence of two or more on the same real property is a blight violation, and each one is then enforced as a separate blight violation. A property with a rodent problem and an uncut lot over one foot of plant growth, for example, faces two counts. Separately, section 9-93A(5) treats any property that constitutes a health or sanitary problem, as determined by the Director of Health and Human Services, as blighted.

Enforcement belongs to the Division of Blight Remediation inside the Department of Development Services, led by the Director of Blight Remediation. Any individual, civic organization or municipal agency can file a written complaint, and inspectors document violations on inspection. After an inspection finds two or more blight violations, the Director serves a notice of violation and order to correct by certified mail, return receipt requested, by posting at the property when the owner's address is the property itself, or by email once receipt is acknowledged. The owner has ten calendar days after receipt to correct, and the Director can shorten that period where the conditions are detrimental to the life or health of any person.

Hartford also ties rodents to demolition. Under section 9-12(d), no building may be demolished until the Director of Health certifies in writing that the premises are free from rodent infestation, and the owner must exterminate first if an inspection finds rodents.

Buildings under a current building permit for repair or renovation that will correct the violations are exempt under section 9-93(b), provided the building official finds the work is moving in a reasonably expeditious timeframe.