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Waterbury, CT Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Some Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Structural duty
Screen basement openings, § 154.072
Single-unit pest duty
Occupant exterminates, § 154.088(A)
Owner-caused infestation
Owner exterminates, § 154.088(B)
Multi-unit/common areas
Owner exterminates, § 154.088(C)
Enforcing officer
Director of Health
Penalty
General penalty, § 10.99

Summary

Waterbury's Housing Code requires every basement window, hatchway or other opening that could let rodents in to be screened or otherwise sealed. Occupants must exterminate pests in single-unit dwellings, but the owner takes over that duty whenever an unrodent-proofed building or shared areas in a multi-unit building are infested.

Every basement or cellar window used or intended to be used for ventilation, and every other opening to a basement which might provide an entry for rodents, shall be equipped with a screen or such other device as will effectively prevent their entrance... (A) Every occupant of a dwelling containing a single dwelling unit shall be responsible for the extermination of any insects, rodents or other pests therein or on the premises... (B) Not withstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, whenever infestation is caused by failure of the owner to maintain a dwelling in a rat-proof or reasonably insect-proof condition, extermination shall be the responsibility of the owner.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-8: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through September 8, 2025).

Full Breakdown

072, Rodent Proofing, requires every basement or cellar window used or intended for ventilation, and every other opening to a basement that might let rodents enter, to be equipped with a screen or other device that effectively prevents their entrance. 088, Extermination, which assigns day-to-day pest control responsibility: the occupant of a single-unit dwelling must exterminate any insects, rodents or other pests in the unit or on the premises, and an occupant of a unit within a multi-unit dwelling is responsible if that unit is infested.

088(C), whenever two or more units are infested, or the infestation is in shared or common areas of a multi-unit building, extermination is the owner's job regardless of cause. 086 requires an owner of a two-or-more-unit dwelling to keep shared or common areas clean and sanitary, a condition that bears directly on rodent harborage.

Violations & Fines

Failing to screen a rodent entry point under § 154.072, or failing to exterminate as required by § 154.088, carries the Housing Code's general penalty under § 10.99, assessed per the city's annual budget fee schedule under § 41.11, with each day of continued noncompliance treated as a separate offense enforced by the Director of Health.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who has to seal up rodent entry points in a Waterbury rental?
Section 154.072 requires every basement or cellar window used for ventilation, and any other basement opening that could let rodents in, to be fitted with a screen or other device that effectively blocks their entrance; this is a structural duty tied to the building itself.
Is the tenant or the landlord responsible for exterminating pests in Waterbury?
It depends on the building. Section 154.088(A) makes the occupant responsible in a single-unit dwelling, but § 154.088(B) shifts responsibility to the owner whenever the infestation is caused by the owner's failure to keep the building rat- or insect-proof.
Who exterminates pests in a Waterbury apartment building's common areas?
The owner. Section 154.088(C) makes the owner responsible for extermination whenever infestation exists in two or more units of a building, or in the shared or common areas of a dwelling with two or more units, regardless of what caused it.

Sources & Official References

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