Code Compliance

The Community Development Agency is committed to ensuring transparency to potential buyers, realtors, appraisers, and contractors for safety and consumer protection. Therefore, we have listed all open code violations that pertain to land use, building, septic systems, and housing. We encourage you to contact the code compliance case manager directly if you have questions about the case. No building permits will be issued for development on the property unless those permits are to resolve the violation. Outstanding enforcement fees will be required to be paid before the case is formally closed.

List of Properties with Open Code Compliance Violations

The contact information of complainants will be kept confidential.

Please include the address of the violation and any other pertinent information such as the assessor's parcel number and property owner's name. The complaint should provide a clear description of the violation and where it is located on the property.

Please submit your written complaint to:

Marin County Community Development Agency, Planning Division
Code Compliance
3501 Civic Center Drive, Room 308
San Rafael, CA 94903

Alternatively, you can submit your compliant by email to Code Compliance

Notice Information

If you have been notified by the Community Development Agency that a the County has received a complaint or that a code violation exists on your property, Code Compliance staff is not necessarily accusing you of intentionally breaking the law. Many of the code violation cases involve a simple lack of knowledge about a particular regulation and are resolved through the voluntary efforts of the property owner.

The following are basic steps in the code enforcement process and explain the actions you can take to resolve code violations in a timely manner.

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• Why Me?

  Most Code Compliance investigations are opened when the County receives a complaint from a citizen or a violation was discovered by staff working for another public agency.

• What can I do to resolve the code violation?

  Contact the assigned code compliance case manager to find out more about the nature of the violation and options that may be available for resolution of the code violation. Because the code compliance program is a cost recovery program it is to your economic benefit to act quickly to resolve the violation.

• What will happen next?

  Voluntary compliance to correct code violations is the primary objective. To this end, the Community Development Agency staff is interested in finding solutions to code compliance problems through onsite inspections, meetings, and correspondence with the property owner. Code compliance actions involving Superior Court injunctions, abatement hearings and assessment of penalties, and issuance of administrative citations are taken by the County when attempts to gain compliance through voluntary efforts by the property owner are unsuccessful.

  Code violations can normally be resolved by the property owner by obtaining County permits and making all improvements necessary.

• What if the violation is not corrected in a timely manner?

  If voluntary compliance is not accomplished in a timely manner, then the County may pursue any or all of the following courses of action:

  • Issuing administrative citations. Administrative citations may be issued repeatedly for as long as the code enforcement case remains open.
  • Scheduling an abatement hearing before an Administrative Law Judge acting as the County Code Compliance Hearing Officer. The Administrative Law Judge is a member of the California Bar who conducts abatement hearings to render decisions regarding code violations. The abatement hearings are conducted in accordance with adopted procedures that ensure fundamental fairness to all affected parties and guide impartial decisions. At a code compliance hearing, you will be given the opportunity to present evidence as to why the use of your property is not in violation of the County Code.
  • Bringing the code violation to Superior Court for an immediate injunction. Much like abetment hearings before an Administrative Law Judge, Superior Court cases follow adopted procedures to guarantee fairness and due process under the law.

  When it is discovered that a builder has done construction without first obtaining the required permits, then that builder will be reported to the State licensing board. In addition, no construction permits will be issued for development on the property unless those permits are to resolve the violation. Outstanding enforcement fees will be required to be paid before the case is formally closed.

If you have a complaint about a Short Term Rental within the unincorporated areas of the County, you may contact our Short Term Rental Hotline at (415) 300-4445. You may also submit a complaint by filling out an online form.

At a minimum, you must have the address of the Short Term Rental when making a complaint.

Please note that this 24-hour Hotline is operated by Host Compliance, a third-party contractor that provides Short Term Rental compliance and monitoring services to the County. Your complaint will be logged by Host Compliance, and if you select the option to inform the person listed as the Local Contact of the complaint, Host Compliance will contact the Local Contact Person to inform them of the issue.

Any complaint received by the Hotline will be logged and provided to County staff for review during regular office hours. Staff may follow up with you or the Short Term Rental operator, as necessary.

If you have a non-emergency complaint associated with noise, parties, trespassing, and/or traffic/parking related issues, please contact the Marin County Sheriff’s Office at (415) 473-7250. If you feel that the safety of you or others within your community is at risk, please contact 911.

Any general questions about the County’s Short Term Rental Program should be directed here.