Memphis, TN Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Sidewalk Repair (2026)

Memphis Code Section 12-24-3, "General duty of property owner to build, repair and clean," places sidewalk maintenance squarely on abutting property owners. Subsection A requires the owner of any lot or parcel abutting a street, avenue, parkway or boulevard where an established grade has been fixed and curbs and gutters are in place to provide and maintain a sidewalk built to the specifications in Chapters 12-24 and 12-28, whenever so ordered by the city engineer or an authorized representative. Subsection B independently requires every owner of property, whether vacant or occupied, to keep the sidewalk clean and open for public passage and in good repair and condition.

Subsection C covers streets where no grade has yet been fixed and curbs/gutters are not in place: owners must keep the walkway free of obstructions, excavations, high grass, weeds, trash, debris or other material, and may be required to lay a gravel, asphalt or cinder walkway at least three feet wide. Section 12-24-4 extends the identical duties to a tenant or occupant of the premises, giving that tenant a lien against the property (and attorney's fees) if the landlord was primarily obligated to do the work but didn't, enforceable by attachment proceedings and offsettable against rent under 1889 Tennessee Acts chapter 163.

Section 12-24-5 separately requires the sidewalk be kept free of mud, weeds, grass and debris, and Section 12-24-9 makes the city engineer responsible for ordering repair of sidewalks that have become slippery or unsafe, applying "the same" notice and remedy procedures used elsewhere in the chapter.