DeKalb County, GA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Sidewalk Repair (2026)
Key Facts
- Owner and tenant duty
- Keep abutting areas free of garbage and trash
- County duty
- Right-of-way maintenance unchanged
- Shared parking areas
- Joint and severable responsibility
- Repeat noncompliance
- Each day a separate offense (§ 18-67)
- Applies to
- Unincorporated DeKalb County only
Summary
In unincorporated DeKalb County, keeping the sidewalk clean and keeping it repaired are two different jobs. Code § 18-38(d) makes owners and tenants of abutting property responsible for keeping the street, sidewalk, lane, or parking area free of garbage and trash, while expressly preserving the county's own maintenance responsibility for public rights-of-way.
Owners and tenants of property or structures abutting a street, sidewalk, lane or parking area on which the property or structure abuts shall maintain the property or structure clean and free of garbage and trash; however, county maintenance responsibility for public rights-of-way shall not be diminished by this section.(e)Where parking in open areas is used jointly for the benefit of two (2) or more owners or tenants, the responsibility for maintaining these parking areas free of garbage and trash shall be the joint and severable responsibility of the owners and tenants of these premises. (Ord. No. 33-03, Pt. I, 12-23-03)
Full Breakdown
Section 18-38(d) puts the cleanliness duty on both owners and tenants, so the occupant of a rented house shares the obligation with the landlord. The duty runs to whatever the property or structure abuts: a street, sidewalk, lane, or parking area, and it is limited to keeping those areas clean and free of garbage and trash. " In plain terms, picking up litter is on you, but structural work on a public sidewalk remains a county obligation, not a private one. Subsection (e) handles shared parking.
Where an open parking area is used jointly for the benefit of two (2) or more owners or tenants, keeping it free of garbage and trash is their joint and severable responsibility, meaning the county can hold any one of them, or all of them, to the duty. The provision was adopted by Ordinance No. 33-03 and applies only in unincorporated DeKalb County.
Violations & Fines
Fine or imprisonment under § 1-10 for failing to keep the abutting area clean, and each day of noncompliance counts as a separate offense under § 18-67.
Frequently Asked Questions
Must I repair the sidewalk in front of my house?
Who fixes a cracked public sidewalk in unincorporated DeKalb?
What about a parking lot shared by several businesses?
Does the duty apply to renters?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in DeKalb County
Compare DeKalb County to another location·View the Georgia sidewalk & pedestrian rules overview
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