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

Sec. 9-93B is the property-maintenance-standards section of Hartford's Anti-Blight and Property-Maintenance Program (Chapter 9, Article V). Two of its listed standards target rodents directly: subsection (1)(f), covering lots, requires that "yards, courts, and vacant lots shall be kept clean and free of rodent infestations," while subsection (2)(k), covering buildings, requires that "buildings and structures shall be maintained free of insect, vermin, pigeon, and rodent harborage and infestation." A related structural standard, subsection (2)(c), requires foundation walls to be "maintained plumb and free from open cracks and breaks" and "kept in such condition so as to prevent the entry of rodents and other pests," tying rodent control to basic building upkeep as well as yard maintenance.

Under Sec. 9-93B's own text, any single one of these failures is a "property-maintenance violation," and two or more property-maintenance violations on the same property automatically become a "blight violation" under Sec. 9-93A(1), which raises the enforcement stakes. The Division of Blight Remediation within the Department of Development Services, headed by the Director of Blight Remediation, investigates complaints and inspections under Sec. 9-94. Where two or more violations are found, the director sends a notice of violation and order to correct, giving the owner ten calendar days to abate (shorter if the condition is "detrimental to the life or health of any person"). A property owner who fails to correct a rodent-infestation or rodent-harborage violation within that window faces a citation carrying a civil penalty of up to $150 per day for an occupied property or $250 per day for a vacant one, which can become a lien on the property. Owners may appeal a citation in writing within ten days to a citation hearing officer under Sec. 9-95, arguing grounds such as improper notice or that the violation was already corrected.