Rental Property Rules in Winston-Salem, NC (2026)
3 verified rental property rules for Winston-Salem, North Carolina, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Rent Control
North Carolina preempts rent control through NCGS 42-14.1, prohibiting any city or county from enacting rent stabilization or rent control ordinances. Winston-Salem has no rent control and cannot legally adopt one. Landlords may set market rates freely.
Rental Property: Rent Control
Few RestrictionsN.C.G.S. 42-14.1 (Preemption of local regulations)
(a) No county or city as defined by G.S. 160A-1 may enact, maintain, or enforce any ordinance or resolution which regulates the amount of rent to be charged for privately owned, single-family or multiple unit residential or commercial rental property. (b) No county or city as defined by G.S. 160A-1 may enact, maintain, or enforce any ordinance or resolution which prohibits an owner, lessee, sub...
Just Cause Eviction
Winston-Salem has no just-cause eviction ordinance. North Carolina is a landlord-friendly state where evictions follow NCGS Chapter 42 (Landlord and Tenant) statewide rules. Landlords may decline to renew leases without stating a cause once the lease term ends.
Rental Property: Just Cause Eviction
Few RestrictionsN.C.G.S. 42-26 (Tenant holding over may be dispossessed in certain cases)
Any tenant or lessee of any house or land, and the assigns under the tenant or legal representatives of such tenant or lessee, who holds over and continues in the possession of the demised premises, or any part thereof, without the permission of the landlord, and after demand made for its surrender, may be removed from such premises in the manner hereinafter prescribed in any of the following c...
Rental Registration
Winston-Salem does not maintain a citywide rental registration program. Rental properties must comply with the Minimum Housing Code in Chapter 14 of the City Code, and landlords can be compelled to register only after repeated code violations under NCGS 160D-1207 limits.
Rental Property: Rental Registration
Some RestrictionsN.C.G.S. 160D-1207(a)
Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the inspection department may make periodic inspections only when there is reasonable cause to believe that unsafe, unsanitary, or otherwise hazardous or unlawful conditions may exist in a residential building or structure. [...] For purposes of this section, the term "reasonable cause" means any of the following: (i) the landlord or owner h...