Pontiac, MI Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

Chapter 22's space and occupancy division spells out exactly what a Pontiac rental unit must have before it can be let for living, sleeping, cooking or eating. Section 22-637 is the umbrella rule: the sanitary facilities listed in Sections 22-638 through 22-646 must be supplied and kept in sanitary, safe working condition. Section 22-638 requires a bathroom set apart from the habitable rooms, affording privacy, and equipped with a water closet and a washbasin or lavatory supplied with hot and cold water. Section 22-641 requires every kitchen sink, lavatory, bathtub or shower to be properly connected to either the public water and sewer system or an approved private system, with all fixtures supplied with hot and cold running water.

Heating is covered separately in Section 22-643: every dwelling and multifamily dwelling must have heating facilities that are properly installed, safely maintained and in good working condition, capable of heating every habitable room, bathroom and toilet room to a temperature averaging at least 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The Department of Building Safety enforces these standards as part of Chapter 22, and Section 22-3 supplies the penalty where the housing division sets none of its own: a municipal civil infraction of $100.00 to $500.00 plus costs, damages and expenses, with each day a violation continues counted separately and repeat offenses drawing the escalated fine under Section 86-501(2).

A landlord who lets a unit without a working bathroom, connected plumbing or adequate heat is exposed to that fine on top of whatever code-enforcement order the Department issues to force the repair.