In unincorporated Forsyth County, code enforcement targets abandoned, unsafe, and dilapidated structures under the county Minimum Housing Code. Junked/abandoned vehicles that become a health or safety hazard are a separate violation. The county does not handle trash, business, or camper complaints.
Forsyth County Code Enforcement (outside Winston-Salem and Kernersville) administers the Minimum Housing Code (Ch. 7, Art. VI), addressing abandoned homes, unsafe housing, and dilapidated structures. It explicitly cannot address business operations in homes, general trash complaints, or occupied tent/camper complaints. Abandoned and junked motor vehicles are handled separately under Chapter 11: it is unlawful to cause or allow a motor vehicle to become a health or safety hazard, with each day a separate offense.
Junk-vehicle health/safety-hazard violations are a class 3 misdemeanor, fined not more than $500. Each day of violation is a separate offense (Sec. 11-3.1). Housing violations follow Minimum Housing Code abatement procedures.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Home backyard composting is allowed in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County. There is no ordinance requiring or banning it, but a compost pile must not become a nuis...
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Neither Winston-Salem nor Forsyth County has a specific ordinance banning or mandating artificial turf for home lawns. Its use is governed by general zoning,...
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Since 2024 Winston-Salem lets residents replace lawns with registered Natural Landscape Areas of native plants. Turf grass must stay under eight inches, area...
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Collecting rainwater is legal in North Carolina, and no county or city may prohibit cisterns or rain barrels used for irrigation. Forsyth County sets no ban....
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North Carolina has no statewide homeowner watering ban, and there is no permanent year-round schedule in Winston-Salem/Forsyth. Mandatory odd/even watering d...
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Winston-Salem defines 'rank noxious vegetation' over eight inches as a nuisance, including non-native grasses, invasive plants, poisonous plants, and untende...
See how Forsyth County's property blight rules stack up against other locations.
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