Portsmouth, VA Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Sec. 17-34 of the Buildings and Structures Maintenance Code lists the duties imposed on every occupant of a covered building, separate from the owner's own duties under Sec. 17-33. Item (4) makes every occupant responsible for the elimination of infestation in and on the premises subject to the occupant's control, meaning a tenant cannot leave a rodent or insect problem for the landlord to solve if it originates in space the tenant occupies and controls. Sec. 17-23 defines 'infestation' for purposes of this article as the presence of insects, rodents, vermin, or other pests on the premises, so the duty reaches more than just rats and mice.

The same section's duties require occupants to keep all parts of the premises under their control clean and sanitary (item 2) and to avoid using storage bins, rooms, or areas for the accumulation of garbage or refuse (item 3), both conditions that attract infestation in the first place. Sec. 17-32(b) makes clear that an occupant's duties under Sec. 17-34 exist independently of the owner's duties, so an owner cannot avoid enforcement by arguing the occupant also let pests take hold. Occupants who discover a violation, including an infestation, are separately required by Sec.

17-34(1) to report it to the director of public health immediately. Violations of these occupant duties carry the same misdemeanor penalty structure as owner violations under Sec. 00 for a first offense, escalating for repeats at the same property.