Lansing, MI Rental Inspections: Inspection Programs (2026)
Key Facts
- Inspection cycle (3+ units/violations)
- every 2 years
- Inspection cycle (1-2 units/clean)
- every 3 years
- Registration deadline
- 30 days after first rental offer
- Absentee landlord threshold
- lives 40+ miles from city
- Missed renewal penalty
- certification fee doubles
- Refused entry remedy
- court warrant required
Summary
Every rental property in Lansing, other than an owner-occupied single-family home, must be registered with the Office of Code Compliance and inspected on a periodic basis to earn a Certificate of Compliance, under City Codified Ordinances § 1460.45(a). Buildings of three or more units, or any rooming house, with a violation on their last inspection get reinspected within two years; clean properties get up to three years between inspections.
(a)General. The Manager of Code Compliance or Code Compliance Officers shall inspect, on a periodic basis, all rental dwellings and units required to be registered under this Code...(c)Two-Year Certificates. In no event shall the period between Certificate of Compliance inspections be longer than two years for rental dwellings with three or more units or rooming houses that have received any violations of this Code during the most recent inspection of the premises.(d)Three-Year Certificates. In no event shall the period between Certificate of Compliance inspections be longer than three years for rental dwellings with one or two units or rental dwellings with three or more units, or rooming houses that have not received any violations of this Code during the most recent inspection of the premises.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 64).
Full Breakdown
45(a) puts the Manager of Code Compliance or Code Compliance Officers in charge of periodic inspection of every registered rental dwelling and unit in the City. 45(d) extends that outer limit to three years for one- and two-unit rentals, and for larger rentals or rooming houses that came through their last inspection violation-free. 44: owners or their Lansing-based registered agent must file names, contact information, and the property location with the Office of Code Compliance within 30 days of first offering the unit for rent, and every absentee landlord, defined as an owner living more than 40 miles from the Lansing city limits, must keep a registered agent in the city.
49(a) is required before a registered unit may be occupied at all, is issued only after inspection, payment of fees, and proof of tenant-relocation insurance, and must be renewed before it expires; two copies issue within 30 days of a passing inspection, and buildings of three or more units must post the certificate at the front entrance. 47 lets the Manager of Code Compliance obtain a court warrant.
Violations & Fines
A rental unit with a lapsed or missing Certificate of Compliance can be ordered vacated under § 1460.44(h), and occupants may pay their rent into an escrow account until a new certificate issues. If the owner or agent misses the deadline to schedule a renewal inspection, § 1460.49(c) doubles the certification inspection fee, and § 1460.46(c) adds a further administrative service fee once fees stay unpaid more than 60 days after expiration, with any unpaid balance becoming a lien on the property under § 1460.46(e).
Frequently Asked Questions
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Can a Lansing code inspector enter my rental unit without a warrant?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lansing
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