Tampa, FL Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

' Item (7) requires screens with a self-closing device on every exterior door opening used for ventilation, and a removable-frame screen on every window or other ventilation opening, with screen wire mesh no coarser than 18-by-14 (existing screens are grandfathered down to 16 mesh). Buildings with year-round central heating and air conditioning are exempt from the screening requirement, but the code specifically carves out window-unit air conditioners, installing one does not excuse a landlord from the screen requirement. Item (8) then targets rodents specifically: every basement or cellar window used for ventilation, and every other opening that could afford rodents entry, must carry a screen or other barrier.

Enforcement responsibility for actual infestations, as opposed to these physical barriers, sits in the neighboring § 19-232(6): a single-unit occupant must exterminate insects, rodents or other pests on their own premises, a multi-unit occupant is responsible only if their unit alone is infested, and the owner becomes responsible once two or more units in the same building are infested. Termite damage carries its own rule, the owner must correct any termite infestation, and licensed, certified exterminators must handle cases with extreme visible structural damage. Because § 19-1 gives the Department of Code Enforcement jurisdiction over all property-maintenance standards, a missing rodent screen found during any inspection, including the tenant/neighbor-complaint inspections authorized under § 19-109, can support a repair order under § 19-5(a)(1) or, if conditions are severe, an unfit-for-habitation declaration under § 19-5(a)(3).