Rochester Hills, MI Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Section 302.4 of the Property Maintenance Code opens with a specific finding about pests: all exterior property areas, including the adjacent right-of-way, must be kept free from vegetation, weeds, bushes, tall grasses and trees which present a visual blight upon the area, may harbor insect or rodent infestations, or threaten the health, safety or economic welfare of adjacent property owners or occupants. That rodent-harboring standard is broader than the separate eight-inch height cap in the same section: overgrown bushes, brush piles or a yard full of debris can violate this clause even where the grass itself is mowed, if the growth or clutter is the kind that gives rodents cover or a nesting site next to a home.

Enforcement runs through the same Property Maintenance Code channel as the rest of the article. The Building Department's code official, designated under Section 103.1, can issue a notice of violation, and Section 302.4 authorizes prosecution under Section 109.3 if the owner or agent fails to act. Beyond weeds specifically, the code's attractive-nuisance provision at Section 302.1.1 separately bars conditions like open wells, unsafe fences or discarded refrigerators and freezers with doors attached, which contribute to the same pest and safety concerns the city groups with rodent-harboring vegetation on a residential lot.