Durham, NC Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Enforcing official
- Housing code administrator (city inspector)
- First-day penalty
- $100.00 after order expires unmet
- Daily penalty
- $10.00 each additional day
- Appeal window
- 10 days to housing appeals board
- State authority
- G.S. 160D-1118 et seq.; City Charter § 100
- Lis pendens
- Recorded until administrator certifies compliance
Summary
Durham's housing code administrator can order an owner to repair, vacate, or demolish any building that meets North Carolina's statutory definition of an unsafe building under G.S. 160D-1119 or Section 100 of the City Charter. Owners who miss the compliance deadline face escalating civil penalties, and the city can record a lis pendens against the property until it's fixed.
Unsafe buildings means buildings that fall within the statutory definitions as set forth in G.S. 160D-1119, or section 100 of the City Charter. ... Remedies for violation of this article shall include all remedies authorized by common law or statute including: G.S. 160D-1124, and G.S. 160D-1125. ... Civil penalties. In addition to the above mentioned remedies, any owner of a building or structure who fails to comply with an order to take corrective action regarding an unsafe building as defined in section 10-270 shall be subject to a civil penalty of $100.00 for the first day following expiration of an order to remedy the defective conditions by repairing, vacating and closing or demolishing any building or structure and $10.00 each day thereafter.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 36).
Full Breakdown
, last amended by Ord. No. S. S. 160D-1119 or Section 100 of the City Charter (Section 10-270). S. 160D-1122 must be served personally or by registered/certified mail plus regular mail; if the recipient can't be located after reasonable diligence, the administrator can serve by newspaper publication and must post notice on the property itself (Section 10-272). An owner who receives an order has ten days to file a written appeal to the housing appeals board, or the order becomes final (Section 10-271). S. 00 for every day after that (Section 10-273).
The city can also record a notice of lis pendens with the clerk of superior court, attaching the complaint or order; once filed, it binds every successor and assign of the property, and it stays on record until the administrator determines in writing that the building is no longer unsafe and the owner has fully complied (Section 10-274). S. 160D-1129) applies the same repair-close-demolish framework specifically to nonresidential structures.
Violations & Fines
Failing to comply with a final order is itself a violation of Article VII (Section 10-271). Beyond the $100.00 first-day penalty and $10.00-per-day continuing penalty under Section 10-273, the city can pursue any remedy available under G.S. 160D-1124 and 160D-1125, and a recorded lis pendens keeps the property encumbered, binding future buyers, until the administrator certifies compliance in writing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides if a Durham building is unsafe?
What happens if I miss the deadline in a Durham repair order?
Can I appeal a Durham unsafe-building order?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Durham
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