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

Sec. 28-20(d) allows the rental division to schedule additional inspections beyond the regular renewal cycle on several bases, the first being a written complaint. Sec. 28-20(d)(1) requires the complaint to be submitted in writing to the rental division, and it will be inspected within a reasonable time only if it alleges sufficient facts giving the division reasonable cause to believe a violation of the ordinance exists; bare accusations without supporting facts do not obligate an inspection. Additional inspections can also follow when a code official independently develops reasonable cause to believe a violation or unsafe, dangerous, or hazardous condition exists, or to confirm that a previously cited violation was actually corrected (Sec.

28-20(d)(2)-(3)). A complaint-driven inspection still runs under the access rules of Sec. 28-20(a): the code official needs the owner's or occupant's cooperation to enter during business hours, or must seek a 37th District Court warrant if refused. The article also limits what a complaint inspection can produce against the landlord: a code official cannot issue a blight violation from, or as a result of, a complaint inspection unless the landlord first received written notice and a reasonable opportunity to correct the condition before reinspection, or the violation is an emergency creating an immediate risk of harm, such as a flooded basement or a premises without heat (Sec.

28-20(f)). This protects landlords from being cited off a tenant's initial complaint before they have a chance to fix the underlying problem, while still allowing the city to act immediately on genuine emergencies.