Lawton

Ordinance 02-2025 applies to short-term rentals village-wide as a licensing and inspection program, but it does not by itself authorize STR use in every zoning district. Whether a specific parcel may operate as a transient/commercial-lodging short-term rental is governed separately by the Village of Lawton Zoning Ordinance use schedule ^[3]. The full zoning ordinance is hosted on Municode and the village’s interactive zoning map is published on ArcGIS ^[4].

The Zoning Ordinance is published only as a Municode-hosted code library and the Schedule of Zoning Regulations excerpt — specific by-district permissions for short-term/transient rental are not available in a single machine-readable PDF. For any specific property, identify the zoning district on the interactive map below, then confirm short-term rental permission with the Village Clerk and the village’s contracted zoning administrator before listing.

🗺 Open the Village of Lawton Zoning Map (ArcGIS) →

Submit the paper Rental Property Registration form to the Village Clerk at 125 S Main Street, Lawton, MI 49065 — by mail or in person ^[2]. Email questions to brathbun@lawtonmi.org. There is no online portal as of May 2026; payment is by check, money order, cash, or credit card (a fee applies to credit card transactions) ^[5].

The fee schedule is published on the Rental Property Registration form and the 2026 Master Fee Schedule ^[2][5]. Inspection fees are tiered by number of units on the parcel.

Owners of more than one parcel must register each parcel separately ^[2]. If ownership or occupancy changes, the village must be notified within 30 days. The village’s separate Master Fee Schedule (effective 4/14/2026) does not list the rental fees — they live in the registration form and the rental ordinance ^[5].

Every registered rental must pass an inspection by the village’s contracted Rental Inspector before a Letter of Compliance is issued ^[2]. Inspections are scheduled within two weeks of a complete application ^[6] and graded pass/fail with an opportunity for remediation. The village has retained Beth Middleton-Pompey as Blight & Rental Inspection Administrator (Resolution 02-2026) ^[9].

The published Rental Property Checklist ^[6] covers, at minimum: weathertight exterior walls and roof; structurally sound porches/decks/stairs with handrails over 30 inches; intact interior walls and floors with no peeling/chipping/flaking paint; egress windows in sleeping rooms; properly grounded outlets (GFCI within 6 feet of water); functional smoke detectors with working batteries (at least one in each sleeping area); heating that maintains 65°F from October 1 through May 15; and approved chimney/flue/vent for any fuel-burning appliance.

The village has not published a separate short-term-rental operating rulebook (quiet hours, occupancy caps, local-agent requirement) within Ordinance 02-2025; the ordinance focuses on registration, inspection, and licensing ^[1]. Day-to-day expectations come from the village’s general ordinance set:

• Anti-Blight Ordinance (Ord. 93.01, amended Ord. 01-2024) — yard maintenance and property condition standards apply to rentals; grass over 8 inches and accumulated debris are violations ^[7].
• Parking Ordinance (Ord. 5 of 2023) — vehicle storage, on-street parking, and trailer rules; commercial vehicles over 10,000 lbs net curb weight are not permitted to park residentially per the rental checklist ^[6][10].
• Burning — open burning is generally prohibited within village limits and may only occur with Lawton Fire Department approval ^[5].
• Off-Road Vehicle Ordinance — ORV operation rules apply ^[8].

STR operators should adopt clear house rules covering quiet hours, parking, and waste disposal even though the village hasn’t codified them — the Anti-Blight and Parking ordinances will be enforced regardless.

Every Rental Property Registration form requires the owner to authorize the Rental Inspector (and any person authorized by the Rental Inspector) to enter the property for compliance inspections ^[2]. Refusal to permit inspection is grounds for denial or immediate revocation of the rental license ^[2].

If the owner is not local, a Property Manager / Agent contact (name, address, phone, email) must be designated on the registration form ^[2]. There is no codified “30-minute travel” or 24-hour-response requirement comparable to some neighboring townships, but a reachable agent is in practice required so the village can schedule and complete the inspection inside the two-week window ^[6].

Lawton’s rental-licensing framework is new — investors should track the rollout dates carefully:

• June 9, 2025: Village Council adopted Ordinance 02-2025 (Rental Property and Short-Term Rental Licensing) ^[1].
• July 7, 2025: Press release issued setting registration deadline of January 1, 2026 ^[1].
• January 1, 2026: All existing rentals required to be registered ^[1].
• March 2026: Village Council adopted Resolution 02-2026, contracting Beth Middleton-Pompey as Blight & Rental Inspection Administrator, and Resolution 01-2026, cancelling its prior contract with Zoning Solutions ^[9].
• April 14, 2026: Updated Master Fee Schedule effective; Resolution 11-2026 amended the schedule again later in April 2026 ^[5][9].
• January 1, 2027: Hard deadline for all existing rental properties to have completed inspection ^[1].

Because the program is in its first full registration cycle, fee schedules and inspection-cycle language can shift between the press release, the Rental Property Registration form, and the Inspection Checklist. Confirm any specific number with the Village Clerk before finalizing a deal.