Charlotte, NC Code Violation Reporting: Common Violations (2026)

Section 11-45(e) lists the conditions Charlotte treats as the most serious housing code violations. They include rotted, fire-damaged, or insect-damaged steps, flooring, or structural supports (item 1); a fire hazard in an in-use chimney (item 2); unsafe wiring (item 3); an unsafe ceiling or roof (item 4); no potable water supply (item 5); no operable heating equipment during November through March (item 6); no operable sanitary facilities (item 7); severe rat infestation where the unit isn't pest-impervious (item 8); no safe, continuous, unobstructed exit at street or grade level (item 9); no access to all rooms without passing through a public space (item 10); a door or window lacking an operable lock, or an owner's failure to rekey for a new tenant (item 11); no operable smoke detector or alarm (item 12); and failure to comply with current county health regulations on carbon monoxide alarms (item 13).

Each item cross-references its own detailed standard elsewhere in Article III (§§ 11-77 through 11-84). Once any one condition is present, the place of habitation is "imminently dangerous," and the owner cannot collect rent from the occupant who lived there when it became dangerous or let a new person move in, regardless of whether a formal § 11-38 repair order has issued yet.