Palm Coast, FL Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Section 15-115 of the Property Maintenance Code, adopted by Ordinance No. 2010-02 on March 2, 2010, requires that all premises, including every structure and the exterior grounds, be kept free from insect and rodent infestation. Where insects or rodents are found, the structure must be promptly exterminated using approved methods that will not injure human health, and after extermination the responsible party must eliminate harborage areas to prevent reinfestation. Responsibility shifts by occupancy type: an owner must exterminate a structure before renting or leasing it to a new tenant; the occupant of a one-family dwelling or a single-tenant nonresidential structure is responsible for extermination on that premises; and in a building with two or more dwelling units, a rooming house, or a multi-tenant nonresidential structure, the owner is responsible for the public and shared areas and the exterior property, while the occupant shares responsibility with the owner if the occupant's own failure to prevent infestation caused the problem.

An occupant must generally keep the structure in a continued rodent- and pest-free condition, but the code carves out an exception: where the infestation results from a defect in the structure itself, the owner bears the responsibility instead of the occupant. Because Flagler County has no comparable ordinance on file, this duty applies only within Palm Coast's city limits and is enforced by the City's code enforcement staff rather than the county.