Southfield, MI Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Sec. 2.16 of the Southfield City Code makes it unlawful for an owner or occupant to permit a condition of rodent harborage, anything that shelters or favors the multiplication of rats, mice or other vermin, to exist in a building or structure or on occupied or vacant land. The section folds in Chapter 17's general garbage and litter rules, requiring all garbage and debris to be stored under Chapter 17's standards and all lots and buildings kept free of litter, garbage and debris at all times.

Its most specific structural mandate targets accessory buildings: every accessory structure must be erected on a concrete rat wall at least twenty-four inches deep and four inches thick, free of cracks or voids, with a cement floor beneath it at least four inches thick. A small premanufactured plastic shed, no more than thirty-two square feet with a total height under seven feet and easily movable, is exempted from being treated as an accessory structure for this purpose. The director of building can grant a written variance from the rat-wall requirement where practical difficulty exists and a reasonable alternative meets the same purpose, weighing the structure's size, the proposed alternative barrier and any unique soil conditions.

Sec. 2.16 also bans feeding wild birds or animals with anything other than commercially approved bird feed in a container elevated at least forty-eight inches off the ground, and separately restricts outdoor firewood storage: no more than two face cords, sixteen feet of stockpile length, kept out of front and required side yards and elevated eight inches off the ground.