Greenville, NC Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Section 9-1-70(A) lets a city inspector declare any building unsafe when it appears especially dangerous to life from fire risk, bad walls, overloaded floors, defective construction, decay, unsafe wiring or heating, or inadequate egress, and requires the inspector to post a notice of the dangerous condition on the building's exterior. Section 9-1-70(B) reaches further for nonresidential buildings inside a designated community development target area: an inspector can declare one unsafe simply because it appears vacant or abandoned and is dilapidated enough to cause or contribute to blight, disease, vagrancy, a fire or safety hazard, a danger to children, or a magnet for criminal activity.

If the owner does not act after a Section 9-1-70 notice, Section 9-1-72 requires the Inspections Division to give written notice by certified mail or personal service and hold an administrative hearing within ten days, where the owner can appear and present evidence. Under Section 9-1-73, if the inspector confirms a hazard at that hearing, the inspector orders repair, closing, vacating or demolition within at least 60 days, or a shorter period if there is imminent danger. Section 9-1-74 lets the owner appeal to the City Council within ten days; an unappealed order becomes final. Section 9-1-76 authorizes the city to remove or demolish the building itself if the owner fails to comply, with the removal cost becoming a lien on the property and, under Section 9-1-76(C), on any other real property the owner holds in the city's jurisdiction besides a primary residence.