Wilmington, NC Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Section 16-229(a) lists nine conditions any one of which lets the housing inspector determine a residential building is unfit for human habitation: interior walls or studs that seriously list, lean or buckle; supporting members with 33 percent or more damage or deterioration, or outside walls with 50 percent or more damage; floors or roofs with improperly distributed or overloaded loads; fire, wind or other damage rendering the building unsafe; dilapidation, decay or unsanitary conditions dangerous to occupants; inadequate fire or panic egress; defects significantly increasing fire or accident hazards; inadequate ventilation, light, heating or sanitary facilities; and lack of proper electrical, heating or plumbing facilities constituting a health or safety hazard. Subsection (b) adds a numeric backstop: a dwelling unit is unfit if it racks up "more than seven (7) separate types of violations of any of the minimum standards" elsewhere in the article.

Once a preliminary investigation under § 16-230 supports the charge, the hearing officer determines under § 16-231 whether the dwelling is merely "deteriorated," repairable at 50 percent or less of its value, or "dilapidated," where repair would exceed that threshold. A deteriorated dwelling draws a repair order with a deadline; a dilapidated dwelling draws an order to repair or demolish within a specified time, and the officer may direct the dwelling vacated and closed in the meantime. If the owner ignores a demolition order, § 16-232 lets the housing inspector demolish the dwelling under city council ordinance, sell salvageable materials, and file the net cost as a lien against the property, collected the same way as other special assessments under G.S. § 160A-216.