Southfield, MI Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Sidewalk Repair (2026)

Southfield City Code § 4.68 puts the repair burden on the abutting owner directly: no person may let a sidewalk adjoining property he owns fall into disrepair or become unsafe. Section 4.69 spells out how the city enforces that duty. When the city administrator determines a sidewalk is unsafe for use, notice goes to the owner of the adjacent lot in accordance with section 1.14 of the Code, and from that point the owner has the duty to place the sidewalk in a safe condition.

The notice must give the owner a reasonable period, not less than seven days, to begin the work, and must require that the work then proceed with due diligence. If the owner refuses or neglects to make the repair within the time given, or does not repair it in the manner the chapter requires, the city administrator steps in and has the sidewalk repaired directly. The administrator may skip the notice altogether when the sidewalk's condition is bad enough that immediate repair is needed to protect the public.

Either way, the city recovers its cost: the expense of the repair is charged against the abutting premises and its owner, and collected the same way as other municipal charges, under section 1.13 of the Code. Because the duty runs to whoever owns the adjoining lot, a landlord, not a tenant, is the one who answers to the city administrator's notice and ultimately pays for repairs the city has to make.