White Pigeon
Short-term & long-term rental regulations, fees, and investor resources for St. Joseph County, Michigan.
Area Overview
The Village of White Pigeon sits at the southern edge of St. Joseph County along the Indiana border, with the Pigeon River running through town and rail service from Michigan Southern and Grand Elk Railroads. Incorporated in 1837, it is the oldest incorporated village in Michigan and remains a small community of roughly 1,718 residents as of the 2020 census.[1]
Housing stock is modest and predominantly single-family, with a mix of owner-occupied and rental homes spread across the village’s 1.4 square miles. The local rental market is driven by long-term tenancies for workforce housing rather than short-term vacation rentals, with no Lake Michigan shoreline or major tourism corridor inside village limits.[1]
The Village does not appear to operate a public-facing short-term rental ordinance or a dedicated rental registration and inspection program separate from the standard zoning code. Zoning and ordinance enforcement is handled by a contracted Zoning Administrator who serves multiple southwest Michigan municipalities, and the Village publishes its ordinances and zoning documents through its public Google Drive document library rather than a codified online code platform.[2][3]
Quick Status Summary
The Village of White Pigeon does not publish a dedicated short-term rental ordinance or registration program online. STRs are governed by the village zoning code (in the Village’s Ordinances document folder) plus general nuisance, noise, and building rules. Anyone planning an STR here should confirm zoning district permissions and any conditional-use requirements directly with the Village Zoning Administrator before listing a property.
Long-term rentals are permitted in residential districts under the Village zoning code. The Village does not appear to operate a separate landlord registration or rental inspection program, so LTRs are governed primarily by Michigan state landlord-tenant law and the standard building, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permit requirements that apply to any occupied dwelling.
Rental Regulations
Where Are STRs Allowed in White Pigeon?
The Village of White Pigeon does not publish a dedicated short-term rental ordinance, so STR permissions follow the underlying zoning district rules in the Village zoning code.[2] The full text of village ordinances (including the zoning code) is hosted in the Village’s public Ordinances document library rather than on a codified online platform like Municode or eCode360.[2]
Because the code is distributed as PDFs through a Drive folder rather than a searchable codified text, by-district permissions for short-term rentals are not available in a machine-readable form. For any specific property, verify the zoning district and any conditional-use requirements directly with Zoning Administrator Matthew Jorgensen at swmizoning@gmail.com or (269) 386-1110.[4]
Is There a Village STR Registration or Permit Process?
No public-facing short-term rental registration program is documented for the Village of White Pigeon.[2] There is no STR permit application, STR affidavit, or rental dashboard on the village website. Anyone operating an STR within village limits must still comply with the zoning code (any required conditional or special-use approval), with any property maintenance requirements, and with general state-level rules.
The recommended path is to contact the Village Zoning Administrator before listing a property, confirm that the proposed use is allowed by-right or whether a conditional-use approval is required, and pull any necessary building, electrical, plumbing, or mechanical permits for occupancy-related work.[4][5]
What Fees Apply to an STR Here?
No published short-term rental registration fee or annual STR permit fee exists for the Village of White Pigeon as of this guide’s verification date.[2] Operators should expect to budget instead for any building, electrical, plumbing, or mechanical permits that may be required for occupancy-related improvements (handled through the State of Michigan licensed inspector network and the Village), plus annual property taxes through the Village’s BS&A Online tax portal.[6]
If conditional or special-use zoning approval is required for a property’s particular district, expect a separate planning commission application fee. Confirm the current fee schedule with the Village Office or Zoning Administrator before submitting any application.[4][5]
What Inspections and Safety Requirements Apply?
The Village does not document a dedicated short-term rental inspection program separate from the standard state building code inspections required for any occupancy-related work.[2] Building, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permits are administered under the Michigan Building Code through the State Building Inspector network and the Village’s Building & Zoning office.[5]
Properties on private well and/or septic must also meet Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency standards for well water testing and on-site sewage disposal. Time-of-sale evaluation and reissued permits for failing systems are handled through the BHSJ Environmental Health Code.[7][8]
What Operating Rules Apply (Noise, Trash, Parking)?
Short-term rentals operating in the Village are bound by general village ordinances covering noise, blight, nuisance, parking, and trash, even in the absence of a dedicated STR ordinance.[2] Enforcement runs through the White Pigeon Village Police Department for noise and nuisance complaints and through the Zoning Administrator for blight, parking, and unpermitted-use complaints.[4][9]
Operators should set house rules that reflect typical village expectations (quiet hours, on-site parking only, no parking on grass or in the right-of-way, household trash to wheeled carts on collection day) and post the Village non-emergency number for neighbor complaints to head off escalation. The full text of village ordinances on noise, blight, and parking is available in the Ordinances document folder.[2]
How Do I Verify a Specific Property?
For any specific parcel in the Village of White Pigeon, the fastest verification path is to (1) pull the parcel’s zoning district and tax history from FetchGIS or the BS&A Online tax portal, (2) confirm what uses are allowed in that zoning district by reading the Village Zoning Ordinance in the Ordinances document folder, and (3) email Zoning Administrator Matthew Jorgensen with the parcel ID and a description of the proposed use before closing.[4][6][10]
If the property is on private well or septic, also pull any historical inspection records from the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph health department and budget for a Time-of-Sale evaluation if one will be triggered by the transaction.[7][8]
Where Are Long-Term Rentals Allowed in White Pigeon?
Long-term rentals are permitted in residential districts in the Village of White Pigeon under the same zoning permissions that apply to owner-occupied housing.[2] The Village does not publish a separate landlord registration ordinance or rental-specific zoning overlay, so the residential character of the unit (single-family, two-family, multi-family) and the zoning district control whether a rental use is allowed.
Because the village zoning code is distributed as PDFs through the Ordinances document folder rather than a codified online platform, by-district rental permissions are not available in machine-readable form. For any specific property, verify the zoning district and any non-conforming-use issues with Zoning Administrator Matthew Jorgensen at swmizoning@gmail.com or (269) 386-1110.[4]
Is There a Village Rental Registration or Inspection Program?
No landlord registration, rental dashboard, or village-administered rental inspection program is documented for the Village of White Pigeon.[2] Unlike larger urban municipalities in southwest Michigan (Kalamazoo, Portage, Niles), the Village does not require landlords to register rental units, pay an annual rental license fee, or schedule a recurring inspection cycle separate from the building code.
Long-term rentals here are governed primarily by Michigan state landlord-tenant law (security deposit handling, notice requirements, habitability standards, the Truth in Renting Act) and the general Village ordinances on blight, nuisance, and property maintenance. Landlords should still confirm directly with the Village Office that no program has been adopted recently before relying on this status.[11][12]
What Fees and Penalties Apply to LTR Landlords?
With no village-level rental registration program in place, the recurring annual costs for a White Pigeon LTR landlord are property taxes (paid through the Village’s BS&A Online portal) and any building, electrical, plumbing, or mechanical permit fees triggered by maintenance, renovation, or change-of-occupancy work.[6] There is no documented annual landlord license fee.
Penalties for noise, blight, parking, and nuisance violations are administered under general village ordinances and enforced by the White Pigeon Village Police Department and the Zoning Administrator. Repeat violations and uncorrected blight can lead to municipal civil infraction tickets handled in 3B District Court at 125 W Main St, Centreville.[9][13]
What Inspections and Safety Requirements Apply?
The Village does not operate a recurring rental inspection cycle for LTRs.[2] Inspections happen on a triggered basis: when a building, electrical, plumbing, or mechanical permit is pulled, when a change-of-occupancy or major renovation occurs, or when the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph health department evaluates an on-site well or septic system (typically at time of sale or in response to a failure complaint).[5][7]
Smoke and carbon monoxide alarm requirements still apply to all rental units under Michigan state law, and landlords remain responsible for habitability standards (heat, hot water, weatherization, structural integrity) under the Truth in Renting Act and general Michigan landlord-tenant case law.[11]
Where Are Tenant Disputes and Evictions Handled?
Eviction filings (summary proceedings), security-deposit disputes, and most landlord-tenant civil matters for property in the Village of White Pigeon are heard by the 3B District Court, Civil Division, at 125 W Main St, Centreville, MI 49032.[13] The court handles civil suits up to $25,000 and small-claims cases up to $7,000. Michigan’s electronic-filing fee applies to all new civil filings in addition to the standard filing fee, with fee waivers available for parties receiving public assistance or determined indigent.
Tenants and landlords without counsel can use Michigan Legal Help’s 3B District Court resources to prepare summary-proceedings forms and notices to quit. The Michigan Attorney General’s Renters’ Rights page and the Michigan Legislature’s A Practical Guide for Tenants and Landlords remain the canonical statewide references.[11][12][14]
Official Resources
Property Tax Treatment
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- Burr OakVillageSTR Status Unverified
- Burr Oak TownshipTownshipSTR Status Unverified
- CentrevilleVillageSTR Status Unverified
- ColonVillageSTR Status Unverified
- Colon TownshipTownshipSTR Status Unverified
- ConstantineVillageSTRs Allowed
- Constantine TownshipTownshipSTR Status Unverified
- Fabius TownshipTownshipSTRs Capped/Limited
- Fawn River TownshipTownshipSTRs Not Allowed
- Florence TownshipTownshipSTRs Allowed
- Flowerfield TownshipTownshipSTR Status Unverified
- Leonidas TownshipTownshipSTRs Allowed
- Lockport TownshipTownshipSTRs Allowed
- MendonVillageSTR Status Unverified
- Mendon TownshipTownshipSTR Status Unverified
- Mottville TownshipTownshipSTR Status Unverified
- Nottawa TownshipTownshipSTRs Allowed
- Park TownshipTownshipSTRs Capped/Limited
- Sherman TownshipTownshipSTRs Allowed
- SturgisCitySTRs Allowed
- Sturgis TownshipTownshipSTRs Capped/Limited
- Three RiversCitySTR Status Unverified
- White PigeonVillageSTR Status Unverified
- White Pigeon TownshipTownshipSTR Status Unverified
Buying, selling, or renting in White Pigeon?
I help investors, landlords, and homeowners navigate rental rules and zoning across St. Joseph County and the rest of southwest Michigan, including the smaller villages where the public ordinance trail is thinner and a direct call to the right person matters more.
Sources & Downloads
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1Wikipedia – White Pigeon, Michigan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Pigeon,_MichiganPopulation, location, founding, and historical contextVerified: 2026-05-17
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2Village of White Pigeon – Ordinances https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B-QvInnGQ48UUldXVVhRQWgzc1U?resourcekey=0-fUjfQFW0Qse3Dws7USz7eA&usp=sharingPublic Drive folder containing all adopted Village ordinancesVerified: 2026-05-17
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3Village of White Pigeon – Building and Zoning Documents https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B-QvInnGQ48UT25fcTNTZkVSWXM?resourcekey=0-VIdiUduyNhgoSHoYnhLbrw&usp=sharingPermit applications and zoning forms in the Village document libraryVerified: 2026-05-17
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4Village of White Pigeon – Zoning Department https://whitepigeonvillage.com/zoning-department/Zoning Administrator contact (Matthew Jorgensen, swmizoning@gmail.com, 269-386-1110)Verified: 2026-05-17
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5Village of White Pigeon – Ordinances and Documents https://whitepigeonvillage.com/ordinances-and-other-docs/Landing page for Village ordinances and the Building and Zoning document libraryVerified: 2026-05-17
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6BS&A Online – Village of White Pigeon https://bsaonline.com/?uid=2199Village property tax and parcel recordsVerified: 2026-05-17
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7BHSJ Community Health Agency – Sewage Disposal Systems https://www.bhsj.org/programs/36Septic permit administration for St. Joseph CountyVerified: 2026-05-17
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8BHSJ Environmental Health Code https://bhsj.org/uploads/resource/attachment/113/EnvironmentalHealthCode91.pdfAdopted environmental health code covering sewage and water (PDF)Verified: 2026-05-17
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9Village of White Pigeon – Police Department https://whitepigeonvillage.com/white-pigeon-police-department/Local police department contact for nuisance and noise complaintsVerified: 2026-05-17
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10St. Joseph County FetchGIS Parcel Viewer http://link.fetchgis.com/e482cc33Countywide parcel viewer with daily-updated tax and parcel dataVerified: 2026-05-17
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11Michigan – A Practical Guide for Tenants and Landlords https://www.legislature.mi.gov/publications/tenantlandlord.pdfMichigan Legislature publication on statewide landlord-tenant law (PDF)Verified: 2026-05-17
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12Michigan Attorney General – Renters' Rights https://www.michigan.gov/consumerprotection/protect-yourself/renters-rightsStatewide renters' rights resource pageVerified: 2026-05-17
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133B District Court – Civil Division (St. Joseph County) https://stjosephcountymi.gov/government/courts-law-enforcement/3b-district-court/civil-division/Jurisdiction over landlord-tenant cases, small claims, and civil disputes in St. Joseph CountyVerified: 2026-05-17
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14Michigan Legal Help – 3B District Court https://michiganlegalhelp.org/courts-and-agencies/3b-district-courtSelf-help legal resource for parties in the 3B District CourtVerified: 2026-05-17