Sussex County, DE Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

Article II of the County Housing Code (§§ 71-10 through 71-20) fixes the baseline every rental and owner-occupied dwelling in unincorporated Sussex County must meet. Section 71-11 requires owners to keep premises clean, free of accumulated rubbish or garbage, and graded to prevent standing water; garbage must sit in leakproof, close-fitting containers, and insect or rat control is the owner's job except in the exterior areas of a single-family rental, where the occupant answers for it. Section 71-12 extends the duty to the building shell: foundations, walls, roofs, chimneys, stairs and window and door frames must all stay structurally sound and weathertight, and door locks must tightly secure the unit.

A deviation only triggers enforcement when it poses "an imminent threat to the health, safety and general welfare of the occupants," per § 71-10, and the Code Official may schedule periodic inspections to check compliance. Municipalities inside the county, including the incorporated towns, may adopt this chapter as their own housing code under § 71-7; where a town hasn't matched or exceeded it, the County Code Official can enforce directly under § 71-8. A structure found unfit for occupancy can be condemned and placarded under § 71-26, with the owner given a correction order and a right to appeal to the County or Community Board of Appeals within 10 days under § 71-31.