(A) If the owner fails to comply with an order to repair, alter or improve or to vacate and close the dwelling, the Code Enforcement Officer shall:
(1) Cause to be posted on the main entrance of any such dwelling, a placard with the following words: "This building is unfit for human habitation; the use or occupation of this building for human habitation is prohibited and unlawful." Occupation of a building so posted shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
(2) Cause the dwelling to be repaired, altered or improved or to be vacated and closed.
(B) If the owner fails to comply with an order to remove or demolish the dwelling, the Code Enforcement Officer shall:
(1) Cause to be posted on the main entrance of any such dwelling, a placard with the following words: "This building is unfit for human habitation; the use or occupation of this building for human habitation is prohibited and unlawful." Occupation of a building so posted shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
(2) Cause such dwelling to be vacated and removed or demolished.
(C) The duties of the Code Enforcement Officer set forth in divisions (A) and (B) shall not be exercised until the City Council shall have by ordinance ordered the Code Enforcement Officer to proceed to effectuate the purpose of this chapter with respect to the particular property or properties which the Code Enforcement Officer shall have found to be unfit for human habitation and which property or properties shall be described in the ordinance. No such ordinance shall be adopted to require demolition of a dwelling until the owner has first been given a reasonable opportunity to bring it into conformity with this chapter. For the purposes of this division a period of 90 days following the date of the Code Enforcement Officer's order shall constitute a reasonable opportunity. This chapter shall be recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds in the county wherein the property or properties are located and shall be indexed in the name of the property owner in the grantor index as provided by G.S. § 160D-1203(4).
(D) (RESERVED).
(E) As provided by G.S. 160D-1203(7), the amount of the cost of repairs, alterations or improvements, or vacating and closing, or removal or demolition by the Code Enforcement Officer shall be a lien against the real property upon which the cost was incurred, which lien shall be filed against the real property, have the same priority, and be collected as the lien for special assessment provided in G.S. Ch. 160A, Art. 10. If the dwelling is removed or demolished by the Code Enforcement Officer, he shall sell the materials of the dwelling, and any personal property, fixtures or appurtenances found in or attached to the dwelling, and shall credit the proceeds of the sale against the cost of the removal or demolition and any balance remaining shall be deposited in the Superior Court by the Code Enforcement Officer, shall be secured in a manner directed by the Court, and shall be disbursed by the Court to the persons found to be entitled thereto by final order of the decree of the Court.
(F) If any occupant fails to comply with an order to vacate a dwelling, the Code Enforcement Officer may file a civil action in the name of the city to remove such occupant. The action to vacate the dwelling shall be in the nature of summary ejectment and shall be commenced by filing a complaint naming as party-defendants any persons occupying such dwelling. The Clerk of Superior Court shall issue a summons requiring the defendant to appear before a magistrate at a certain time, date and place not to exceed ten (10) days from the issuance of the summons to answer the complaint. The summons and complaint shall be served as provided in G.S. § 42-29. The summons shall be returned according to its tenor, and if on its return it appears to have been duly served, and if at the hearing the Code Enforcement Officer produces a certified copy of an ordinance adopted by the City Council pursuant to division (C) of this section authorizing the Code Enforcement Officer to proceed to vacate the occupied dwelling, the magistrate shall enter judgment ordering that the premises be vacated and that all persons be removed. The judgement ordering that the dwelling be vacated shall be enforced in the same manner as the judgment for summary ejectment entered under G. S. § 42-30. An appeal from any judgment entered hereunder by the magistrate may be taken as provided in G.S. § 7A-228, and the execution of such judgment may be stayed as provided in G.S. § 7A-227. An action to remove an occupant of a dwelling who is a tenant of the owner may not be in the nature of a summary ejectment proceeding pursuant to this division unless such occupant was served with notice at least thirty (30) days before the filing of the summary ejectment proceeding that the City Council has ordered the Code Enforcement Officer to proceed to exercise his duties under divisions (A), (B) and (C) of this section to vacate and close or remove and demolish the dwelling.
(G) Whenever a determination is made pursuant to division (A) or (B) of this section that a dwelling must be vacated and closed or removed or demolished under the provisions of this section, notice of the order shall be given by first class mail to any organization involved in providing or restoring dwellings for affordable housing that has filed a written request for such notices. A minimum period of forty-five (45) days from the mailing of such notice shall be given before removal or demolition by action of the Code Enforcement Officer, to allow the opportunity for any organization to negotiate with the owner to make repairs, lease, or purchase the property for the purpose of providing affordable housing. The Code Enforcement Officer shall certify the mailing of the notices, and the certification shall be conclusive in the absence of fraud. Only an organization that has filed a written request for such notices may raise the issue of failure to mail such notices, and the sole remedy and the sole remedy shall be an order requiring the public officer to wait 45 days before causing removal or demolition.
(H) If the City Council shall have adopted an ordinance, or the Code Enforcement Officer shall have issued an order, ordering a dwelling to be repaired or vacated and closed, as provided in § 153.57, and if the owner has vacated and closed such dwelling and kept such dwelling vacated and closed for a period of one year pursuant to the ordinance or order, then if the City Council shall find that the owner has abandoned the intent and purpose to repair, alter, or improve the dwelling in order to render it fit for human habitation and that the continuation of the dwelling in its vacated and closed status would be inimical to the health, safety, moral, and welfare of the city in that the dwelling would continue to deteriorate, would create a fire and safety hazard, would be a threat to children and vagrants, would attract persons intent on criminal activities, would cause or contribute to blight and the deterioration of property values in the area, and would render unavailable property and a dwelling which might otherwise have been made available to ease the persistent shortage of decent and affordable housing in the city, then in such circumstances, the City Council may, after the expiration of such one year period, enact an ordinance and serve such ordinance on the owner, setting forth the following:
(1) If it is determined that the repair of the dwelling to render it fit for human habitation can be made at a cost not exceeding fifty percent (50%) of the then current value of the dwelling, the ordinance shall require that the owner either repair or demolish and remove the dwelling within 90 days; or
(2) If it is determined that the repair of the dwelling to render it fit for human habitation cannot be made at a cost not exceeding fifty percent (50%) of the then current value of the dwelling, the ordinance shall require the owner to demolish and remove the dwelling within 90 days.
(I) This chapter shall be recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds in the county wherein the property or properties are located and shall be indexed in the name of the property owner in the grantor index as provided by G.S. 160D-1203(4). If the owner fails to comply with this chapter, the Housing Inspector shall effect the purpose of the ordinance.
(Ord. passed 2-18-92; Am. Ord. O-1999-37, passed 6-15-99; Am. Ord. O-1999-61, passed 10-5-99; Am. Ord. O-2022-54, passed 7-12-22)