Mebane, NC Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Section 6-131 declares that the city council finds unfit residential buildings and accessory structures a threat to health, safety, and welfare and exercises its police power to require their repair, closing, or demolition. Under § 6-148, an inspector can find a building unfit for nine listed reasons, including walls that seriously list or buckle, supporting members with 33 percent or more damage, fire or wind damage rendering the building unsafe, dilapidation or unsanitary disrepair, inadequate fire egress, and improper electrical, heating, or plumbing facilities that create a health or safety hazard.

Section 6-149 lays out the procedure: a preliminary investigation starts from a public-authority petition, an occupant or two residents' complaint, or the inspector's own findings; a formal complaint and hearing notice follow, giving the owner ten to thirty days' notice. After the hearing, the inspector's written order requires repair within a period not to exceed 90 days, extendable by another 60 days for demonstrated progress. If the owner still fails to comply, the city council can order the inspector to vacate and close the building, when repair would cost less than 50 percent of its present value, or to demolish it, when the cost would equal or exceed 50 percent of that value.

A posted building carrying the words 'unfit for human habitation' cannot lawfully be occupied, the water and sewer department cuts utilities once the building is vacant, and repair, closing, or demolition costs the city incurs become a lien on the property. Owners may appeal to the Housing Board of Appeals within ten days under § 6-151, or petition superior court within 30 days for an injunction under § 6-152 and G.S. 160A-446(f).