Dearborn Heights, MI Rental Inspections: Inspection Programs (2026)

Article IX, Division 10 of the Dearborn Heights City Code sets up the city's rental inspection program. Sec. 7-618 states its purpose: protecting public health, safety and welfare in buildings intended for human habitation and their accessory structures. Sec. 7-621 requires every rental dwelling to hold a rental dwelling certificate of compliance, or a temporary certificate, before it can be occupied, and the building department issues that certificate only after the director of the building department finds the dwelling, its units, accessory structures and yards comply with the currently adopted building, mechanical, plumbing, electrical and property maintenance codes.

A standard certificate is valid for three years, and the building department director can add up to eight additional months solely to balance the city's inspection workload. If an owner or responsible local agent does not comply with a complaint notice, the director must suspend the certificate and notify the owner in writing; once suspended, it becomes unlawful for the rental unit to continue to be occupied for more than six days, and any unit that is or becomes vacant during a suspension cannot be rented again until the certificate is reinstated.

A suspended certificate can be reinstated once the director determines the dwelling meets the article's standards again, but the owner must first pay a reinstatement fee and all inspection fees the city council has set, and reinstatement does not extend the original three-year expiration date. An owner can appeal a suspension to the building board of appeals under Article II of Chapter 7, and the city must mail suspension notices to every tenant within the certified rental dwelling.