Brunswick County, NC Building Safety: Lead Paint (2026)

Brunswick County adopted its Minimum Housing Code by ordinance on October 2, 2006, codified at Chapter 1-4, Article IV of the Brunswick County Code, to cover dwellings within the county's jurisdiction that pose hazards from dilapidation, deterioration or unsanitary conditions (Sec. 1-4-106, 1-4-107). Section 1-4-110's structural-condition standards single out lead-based paint: any interior surface, and any exterior surface a child under seven could reach, that has loose, cracking, scaling, peeling, chipping or flaking lead-based paint must either be washed, sanded, scraped or wire-brushed clean and repainted with at least two coats of nonleaded paint, or covered over with gypsum wallboard, plywood, drywall, plaster or other suitable material.

S. 8, investigates dwellings on his own motion or after a petition or complaint is filed (Sec. 1-4-119, 1-4-120). Where the officer finds a dwelling deteriorated, he must serve a written order requiring repairs within a period he sets, capped at 90 days, with a further 90-day extension possible for good cause (Sec. 1-4-121, 1-4-122). An owner who disagrees can appeal to the county's Minimum Housing Appeals Board within ten days (Sec. 1-4-123). This standard governs unincorporated Brunswick County; Leland, Southport, Oak Island, Shallotte, Holden Beach, Ocean Isle Beach, Sunset Beach, Calabash and Boiling Spring Lakes each enforce their own separate housing or property-maintenance code inside town limits, so a lead-paint complaint on a beach-town address goes to that town, not the county.