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§§ 5-212 TO 5-299 RESERVED.
Section
5-401 Definitions
5-402 Findings; purpose
5-403 Conflicts
5-404 Scope
5-405 Alternative remedies
5-406 Right of access
5-407 Methods of services of complaints and orders
5-408 Compliance
5-409 Space use
5-410 Light and ventilation
5-411 Exits
5-412 Plumbing
5-413 Heating
5-414 Electricity
5-415 Structural requirements
5-416 Property maintenance
5-417 Rooming/boarding houses
5-418 Inspections; duty of owner and occupants
5-419 Refusal to permit entry for inspection
5-420 Method of serving complaints, orders
5-421 Dwellings in violation; preventive action or proceeding
5-422 Petition for temporary injunction
5-423 Enforcement by Code Official; assistance from town agencies, departments
5-424 Powers of Code Official
5-425 Issue of complaint; hearing; determination of unfit dwelling; abatement procedure
5-426 Appeals from orders of Code Official
5-427 Petition to Superior Court
5-428 Unauthorized removal of posted complaint, notice, or order
5-429 Renting unfit dwelling after notice
5-430 Certificate of occupancy
5-431 Changes in work after permit issue
5-432 Violations; penalty
5-433 to 5-450 Reserved
Statutory reference:
Municipal housing standards authorized, G.S. §§ 160A-441 et seq.
(A) For the purpose of this article, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates, or requires, a different meaning.
ACCESSORY BUILDING or OUTHOUSE. A building, or structure, the use of which is incidental to that of the main building, or structure, and which is located on the same lot, or a contiguous lot.
ALTER OR ALTERATION. Any change, or modification, in construction or occupancy.
BASEMENT. A portion of a building located partly underground, having direct access to light and air from windows located above the level of the adjoining ground.
BUILDING. Any structure built for the support, shelter, or enclosure of persons, animals, chattels, or property of any kind. The term BUILDING shall be construed as if followed by the words “or part thereof”.
CELLAR. A portion of a building located partly, or wholly, underground having an inadequate access to light and air from windows located partly, or wholly, below the level of the adjoining ground.
CODE/BUILDING OFFICIAL. The official, or other person, charged with the administration, and enforcement, of this article, or duly authorized representative.
DWELLING. Any building, structure, manufactured home, or mobile home, or part thereof, used and occupied for human habitation, or intended to be so used, and includes any outhouses and appurtenances belonging thereto, or usually enjoyed therewith, except that it does not include any temporary dwelling, or any manufactured home or mobile home, which is used solely for a seasonal vacation purpose. MANUFACTURED HOME or MOBILE HOME means a structure as defined in G.S. § 143-145(7).
DWELLING UNIT. Any room, or group of rooms, located within a dwelling, and forming a single habitable unit with facilities which are used, or intended to be used, for living, sleeping, cooking, and eating.
EXIT. A clear and unobstructed way of departure from the interior of a building, or structure, to the exterior at street, or grade, level.
EXTERMINATION. The control, and elimination, of insects, rodents, or other pests by eliminating their harborage places; by removing, or making inaccessible, materials that may serve as their food, by poisoning, spraying, fumigating, trapping, or by any other recognized, and legal, pest elimination methods approved by the Code Official.
FLOOR AREA. The total area of all habitable space in a building, or structure.
GARBAGE. The animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking, and consumption of food.
HABITABLE ROOM. A room, or enclosed floor space, used, or intended to be used, for living, sleeping, cooking, or eating purposes, excluding bathrooms, water closet compartments, and laundries.
INFESTATION. The presence, within or around a dwelling, of any insects, rodents, or other pests.
MULTIPLE DWELLING. Any building, or portion thereof, which is designed, built, rented, leased, let, or hired out to be occupied, or which is occupied as the home, or residence, of more than two families living independently of each other, and doing their own cooking in the building, and shall include FLATS and APARTMENTS.
OCCUPANT. Any person over one year of age living, sleeping, cooking, or eating in, or having actual possession of, a dwelling unit or rooming unit.
OPENABLE AREA. The part of a window, porch, or door which is available for unobstructed ventilation, and which opens directly to the outdoors.
OPERATOR. Any person who has the charge, care, or control of a building, or part thereof, in which dwelling units, or rooming units, are let.
OWNER. Any person who, alone or jointly, or severally with others:
(a) Has title to any dwelling, or dwelling unit, with or without accompanying actual possession thereof; or
(b) Has the charge, care, or control of any dwelling, or dwelling unit, as owner, or agent of the owner, or as executor, administrator, trustee, or guardian of the estate of the
OWNER. Any such person thus representing the actual OWNER shall be bound to comply with the provisions of this article, and of rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto, to the same extent as if he or she is the OWNER.
PARTIES IN INTEREST. All individuals, associations, and corporations who have interest of record in a dwelling, and any who are in possession thereof.
PLUMBING. Includes all of the following supplied facilities and equipment: Gas pipes; gas-burning equipment; water pipes; mechanical garbage disposal units (mechanical sink grinder); waste pipes; water closets; sinks; installed dishwashers; lavatories; bathtubs; shower baths; installed clothes washing machines; catch basins; drains; vents; and any other similar supply fixtures, together with all connections to water, sewer, or gas lines.
PREMISES. A lot, plat, or parcel of land, including the buildings, or structures, thereon.
PUBLIC AUTHORITY. Any housing authority, or any official in charge of any department or branch of the government of the town, the county, or the state relating to health, fire, or building regulations, or to other activities concerning housing in the town.
REMOVAL. The demolition, and removal, of the entire building, leaving the premises free and clear of any debris; any excavation properly filled in, and with no holes or pockets which retain water.
ROOMING/BOARDING HOUSE. Any dwelling, or part of any dwelling, containing one, or more, rooming units, in which space is let by the owner or operator to two, or more, persons, who are not husband and wife, son or daughter, mother or father, or sister or brother of the owner or operator.
ROOMING UNIT. Any room, or group of rooms, forming a single habitable unit used, or intended to be used, for living and sleeping, but not for cooking or eating.
RUBBISH. Combustible, or noncombustible, waste materials, except garbage, including, but not limited to, the residue from the burning of wood, coal, coke, and other combustible material, paper, rags, cartons, boxes, wood, excelsior, rubber, leather, tree branches, yard trimmings, tin cans, metals, mineral matter, glass crockery and dust, and discarded appliances.
STORY. The part of a building between one floor and the floor, or roof, next above.
STRUCTURE. That which is built, or constructed, an edifice or building of any kind, or any piece of work artificially built up, or composed of parts joined together in some definite manner. The term STRUCTURE shall be construed as if followed by the words “or part thereof”.
SUBSTANDARD. Any condition existing in any housing, or structure, which does not meet the standards of fitness of this article.
SUPPLIED. Paid for, furnished, or provided by, or under the contract of, the owner or operator.
TEMPORARY HOUSING. Any tent, trailer, or other structure used for human shelter which is designed to be transportable (for example, a motor home), and which is not attached to the ground, to another structure, or to any utilities system on the same premises legally for more than 60 consecutive days.
UNFIT FOR HUMAN HABITATION. Conditions exist in a dwelling which violate, or do not comply with, one, or more, of the minimum standards of fitness established by this article.
VENTILATION. The insufflation and the exsufflation of air by natural means to, and from, housing.
VENTILATION, MECHANICAL. Ventilation by power-driven devices.
VENTILATION, NATURAL. Ventilation by opening to outer air through windows, sky-lights, doors, louvers, or stacks with, or without, wind-driven devices.
(B) Whenever the words “dwelling”, “dwelling unit”, “rooming house”, “rooming unit”, and “premises” are used in this article, they shall be construed as though followed by the words “or any part thereof”.
(Ord. 21-2018, passed 12-3-2018)
The Town Council finds, and declares, that there now exists, in the town and its one-mile jurisdiction, and may reasonably be expected to exist in the future, housing which is unfit for human habitation because of dilapidation; defects increasing the hazards of fire, accidents, or other calamities; lack of ventilation, adequate lighting, or sanitary facilities; or because of conditions rendering such housing unsafe or unsanitary, or dangerous or detrimental to the health, safety, or morals, or otherwise inimical, to the welfare of the residents of the town and its area of jurisdiction; and that a public necessity exists to exercise police powers of the town, pursuant to G.S. Chapter 160A, Article 19, and other applicable laws, as now, or hereafter, amended, to cause the repair and rehabilitation, closing, or demolishing of such housing in the manner provided in this article; and pursuant to the exercise for the police power, the Town Council finds as fact, and so declares, that the ensuing sections of this article are necessary to the implementation of its purposes hereinabove declared in this section, and that, specifically, but without limitation, the minimum standards of fitness for dwellings and dwelling units, as enacted in this article, are reasonable and necessary for this community, and are all reasonable and necessary criteria for determining whether dwellings and dwelling units in this town are fit for human habitation.
(Ord. 21-2018, passed 12-3-2018)
Statutory reference:
Similar provisions, G.S. Chapter 160D.
The provisions of this article shall not be construed to conflict with any other applicable laws, codes, or ordinances pertaining to housing, but are supplemental thereto, and where the provisions of this article are similar to provisions of other applicable codes or ordinances, the more stringent provisions shall apply.
(Ord. 21-2018, passed 12-3-2018)
(A) Every building used in whole, or in part, as a dwelling unit, or as two, or more, dwelling units, or as a rooming house, or boardinghouse, shall conform to the requirements of this article irrespective of the primary use of such building, and irrespective of when such building may have been constructed, altered, or repaired.
(B) This article establishes minimum standards for occupancy, and does not replace, or modify, standards otherwise established for construction, replacement, or repair of buildings, except such as are contrary to the provisions of this article.
(C) In addition to the exercise of police power authorized in this article, with respect to dwellings, the town shall cause to be repaired, closed, or demolished any abandoned structure which the Town Council finds to be a health, or safety, hazard as a result of the attraction of insects or rodents, conditions creating a fire hazard, dangerous condition constituting a threat to children, or frequent use by vagrants as living quarters in the absence of sanitary facilities. The repair, closing, or demolition of such structures shall be pursuant to the same provisions, and procedures, as are prescribed in this article for the repair, closing, or demolition of dwelling found to be unfit for human habitation.
(Ord. 21-2018, passed 12-3-2018)
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