Carteret County, NC HOA Rules: Board Governance (2026)

Section 6-1.1 of the Carteret County Subdivision Regulations requires an owners' association whenever a development contains common areas or facilities serving more than one dwelling unit, or whenever the North Carolina Condominium Act requires one. The subdivider must convey fee-simple title of every common area, meaning anything other than public road rights-of-way, county-dedicated areas, and individual lots, to the association, and every lot owner in the development automatically becomes a member. Common areas cannot later be subdivided or conveyed by the association unless a revised preliminary and final plat showing the change is submitted and approved.

Developments limited to two units joined by a single party wall are exempt from forming an association, but the two owners must instead have their own written agreement covering maintenance of the shared wall. Section 6-1.2 requires the developer to submit the association's proposed bylaws to the county for review before or with the final plat, and the county attorney checks them for sufficiency before recommending approval to the Planning Commission. The declaration itself must be organized and legally in existence before any lot is conveyed, leased under an option, or otherwise transferred, and membership is mandatory for the original purchaser and every successive purchaser, with provisions required for absorbing owners as later sections of the development are sold.