Southfield, MI Rental Inspections: Tenant Complaint Process (2026)

Chapter 103 builds a complaint-triggered inspection path on top of the regular cycle. Sec. 8.508(b) makes any rental dwelling subject to inspection at any time there is a credible complaint or other indication of a violation of the chapter, layered over the baseline of at least one regular inspection every three years under Sec. 8.508(a). Sec. 8.513(b) then gives the department the right to require an inspection between regular periods when a tenant complains about conditions the owner has not fixed, but it shifts the cost: the tenant is responsible for paying a special inspection fee set in the city's fee schedule rather than the owner.

Sec. 8.513(a) otherwise requires fees to be paid before an inspection is scheduled unless the code official authorizes otherwise, and Sec. 8.513(c) gives 15 days to pay any statement of fees mailed for amounts due. When the code official inspects, Sec. 8.509 requires the owner or agent to give access and either accompany the inspection or, if the tenant is absent, unlock the unit, confirm no one is present and secure it afterward. If the inspection turns up violations of the guidelines in Sec. 8.510, the owner receives written notice and a correction deadline under Sec. 8.506(b), and the dwelling can be ordered vacated until it is re-inspected and a new certificate of rental compliance is issued.