Miami-Dade local guide

How to Report Rats in Miami-Dade and What Happens Next

Updated November 4, 2026

Miami-Dade lists rat infestations as a 311 matter. Here's which office handles what, how to file a report that gets acted on, and what the county and cities can and can't do.

Call 311. Miami-Dade County's environmental complaints page lists "animal infestation (such as rats and bees)" among the problems 311 takes, along with illegal dumping, overgrown lots and abandoned houses. Food waste dumped on the ground goes to the county's environmental resources division (DERM) instead, and problems at a restaurant go to the state.

Which office follows up depends on where the property is. Unincorporated areas like Kendall and Westchester fall under the county's codes. Cities like Miami, Miami Beach, Hialeah and Coral Gables run their own code enforcement. This guide walks through each channel. It's general information, not legal advice.

Start by figuring out whose rules apply

Miami-Dade has dozens of cities, towns and villages, plus large unincorporated areas the county governs directly. A rat problem in Brickell is a City of Miami matter. The same problem in Westchester is a county matter. In Doral, Pinecrest or Cutler Bay, the city, village or town handles its own code complaints.

If you aren't sure, the City of Miami's code compliance page suggests looking the property up in the Miami-Dade property search, which shows which jurisdiction it's in. 311 can also route you. Have the exact address ready. The City of Miami asks for the house number, the street and the cross street if there is one.

What Miami-Dade 311 handles

The county's environmental complaints page splits complaints between 311 and DERM. These go to 311:

• Animal infestations, which the county lists as "such as rats and bees"
• Solid waste dumping, the county's term for illegal dumping
• Overgrown lots and abandoned houses
• Dead animals on the public right-of-way
• Odor from trucks and animal waste odors

What DERM handles

The Division of Environmental Resources Management takes a different set of complaints. Two of them matter for rats: food-waste garbage on pavement or ground that isn't in a proper container, and dead animals on private property. DERM also handles liquid discharges, sewage overflows outside buildings, chemical spills and open burning.

The county lists DERM's complaint line as 305-372-6955, answered around the clock, plus an email address and an online form. It asks for an address or the most precise location you can give, and photos or video if you have them.

Rental housing in unincorporated Miami-Dade

Chapter 17 of the county code, the minimum housing code, applies throughout unincorporated Miami-Dade. It covers owner-occupied homes and rented homes, apartments and rooming houses with four or fewer units. Under it, owners must exterminate rodents and insects and provide enough garbage and trash facilities. Tenants must eliminate rodents or insects in their own dwelling and dispose of garbage properly.

The county's process starts with the owner. Tell the owner, manager or rent collector first. If the problem isn't fixed within a reasonable time, call 311 and say when someone will be home to let the Neighborhood Compliance Officer in. The officer decides what's needed. Sometimes a phone call to the owner settles it; sometimes it takes a full inspection. The owner is told which violations to correct, and tenants may be told about violations that are theirs. The county says violators, owner or tenant, may be prosecuted in civil or criminal court.

Vacant and abandoned buildings

Empty buildings are a common rat complaint. Chapter 17A says vacant structures in unincorporated Miami-Dade must be secure at all times, and that windows and exterior doors must be weather-tight and "rodent-proof." Owners must secure a vacant building right away, and the county says the owner pays the full cost of enforcing the chapter, including inspections and securing the structure. Report an open or abandoned building through 311.

Overgrown lots, junk and trash

Chapter 19 sets property maintenance rules. Owners of lots in residential districts must keep grass, weeds and undergrowth from growing past 12 inches, or past 10 percent of the area. They must also prevent piles of litter, junk, trash and abandoned property, and keep junk, appliances, furniture and construction materials out of open-air storage.

Enforcement starts with a courtesy warning notice. If the problem isn't fixed, the county issues a ticket. The county lists property maintenance tickets at $260 for a first offense, $510 for a second and $1,010 after that. For some Chapter 19 violations the county can make the correction at the owner's expense, and unpaid fines can become a lien. The trash and property rules guide covers what these rules mean for rats.

Inside the City of Miami

The City of Miami's Office of Code Compliance handles property complaints inside city limits. Its page on overgrown lots says to call 311, and also lists (305) 416-2087, an email address and the office at the Miami Riverside Center, 444 SW 2nd Ave., 7th floor. The city can only inspect properties inside its own boundaries, so check the address first.

Other cities in the county run their own code offices. Miami Beach, Hialeah, Coral Gables, Doral, Aventura and the rest each handle complaints about properties inside their limits.

Restaurants and food businesses

Rats in or around a restaurant, food truck or caterer go to the state, not the county. Florida's Department of Business and Professional Regulation licenses and inspects public food service establishments, and it takes consumer complaints through MyFloridaLicense.com. You can also look up a restaurant's past inspection reports there. The restaurant violations guide explains what inspectors do with a rodent finding.

The health department's role

The Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade investigates sanitary nuisances under Florida Statute 386.041. Its list includes untreated or improperly treated garbage and dead animals, and conditions that can breed flies, mosquitoes or other pests. Its page doesn't mention rats by name, so for a rat problem tied to a property, start with 311 or your city's code office.

How to file a report that gets acted on

A clear report saves a second trip. Before you call:

1. Get the exact address of the problem property, plus a cross street.
2. Write down what you've seen and when: rats at dusk along a fence, burrows, piled trash, an open building.
3. Take photos or a short video from your own property or the street.
4. Give your name and address. Under Florida Statute 125.69, the county investigates an anonymous complaint only if it shows an imminent threat to public health, safety or welfare.
5. Write down the complaint number 311 gives you, and follow up if nothing changes.

What a report won't do

Code enforcement works on property owners. It can push a neighbor to clear a lot, secure a building or fix a rental, but it won't set traps in your attic or seal your soffits. If rats are already inside your home, you'll need a pest control provider for that part. Report the source, then deal with your own house. See rat control and rodent exclusion.

Related services: Rat Control, Rodent Exclusion, Condo and Apartment Rodent Control