Memphis, TN Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)
Key Facts
- Covered buildings
- Business buildings, multifamily dwellings
- Compliance deadline
- Not less than 15 days
- Non-compliance
- Misdemeanor + city ratproofs, bills owner
- Inspections
- Unannounced, by health officer
- Minimum fine
- $200 per violation
- Occupant repair notice
- 3 days to comply
Summary
Memphis Code Chapter 9-80 requires every business building and multifamily dwelling to be ratproofed and kept rat-free under the health officer's supervision. On written notice of a rat problem, the owner must ratproof within at least 15 days; if the owner doesn't comply, the health officer can do the work and bill the owner.
Sec. 9-80-7(A). All business buildings or multifamily dwellings in the city shall be ratproofed, freed of rats, and maintained in a ratproof and rat-free condition under the direction and supervision of the health officer. Sec. 9-80-9(A). Upon receipt of written notice from the health officer, the owner of any business building or multifamily dwelling specified therein shall take immediate measures for ratproofing the building, and unless such work has been completed in the time specified in the written notice, in no event to be less than 15 days, or within the time to which a written extension may have been granted by the health officer, then the owner shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 32 | Charter: Supplement 4).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 9-80's Article 2 (§§ 9-80-7 through 9-80-12) builds a full ratproofing regime on top of the general extermination duties in §§ 9-80-5 and 9-80-6. Section 9-80-7 requires every business building and multifamily dwelling in the city to be ratproofed, freed of rats, and kept in a ratproof and rat-free condition under the health officer's direction; it's unlawful to erect a new business building or multifamily dwelling without ratproofing built in, and occupants of already-ratproofed buildings must maintain that condition and repair any breaks or leaks.
Section 9-80-8 authorizes the health officer to make unannounced inspections of the interior and exterior of any covered building and to serve notices or orders to abate whenever evidence of rats turns up. Section 9-80-9 puts teeth in the notice: once the health officer serves written notice on an owner, the owner must take immediate ratproofing measures, completed within a period the notice sets, 'in no event to be less than 15 days', or the owner is guilty of a misdemeanor. If the owner still doesn't comply, the health officer can ratproof the building directly at the owner's expense, bill the owner monthly or on completion, and, if unpaid, certify the debt to the city attorney to sue for collection.
Section 9-80-10 mirrors that scheme for occupants who must free a building of rats or repair ratproofing within three days of notice. Sections 9-80-11 and 9-80-12 let the health officer require cement floors where wooden floors harbor rats and bar anyone from removing ratproofing without restoring it.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 9-80 carries the Code's enhanced Health and Sanitation minimum penalty under § 1-24-1(C): a minimum fine of $200.00 per violation rather than the ordinary $50.00 cap, on top of which an owner who ignores a ratproofing notice is separately guilty of a misdemeanor under § 9-80-9(A) and can be billed for the full cost of city-performed ratproofing work, collectible through a city attorney lawsuit if unpaid.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Memphis require apartment buildings to be ratproofed?
What happens if I get a ratproofing notice from the Memphis health officer?
Can the city inspect my building for rats without notice?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Memphis
Compare Memphis to another location·View the Tennessee public health rules overview
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