High Point, NC Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Section 9-2-101(a) lists an occupant's duties under the Minimum Housing Code, and item 3 covers pests directly: an occupant must be responsible for the extermination of any insects, rodents or other pests whenever the dwelling, or portion of it, is the only one infested and the owner has provided a reasonably insect-proof and adequately rodent-proof dwelling. That duty shifts to the occupant only once the owner has met the structural side of the standard: § 9-2-100(l)(1)(h) requires the crawl space beneath every dwelling to be underpinned with masonry that is substantially weather-proof and rodent-proof, with an access opening of 18 by 24 inches and a door, plus foundation vents of at least one square foot per 250 square feet of crawl space where moisture damage is present.

Section 9-2-100(c)(3) separately sets a general premises-maintenance standard the inspector checks regardless of fault: the premises and all dwellings shall be maintained free of infestation. Section 9-2-101(b) keeps the owner on the hook even where a duty is also placed on the occupant, or where the owner has shifted a duty to the occupant by lease, stating that the owner remains liable for violations of duties imposed upon him by this Article. Enforcement against an occupant runs through § 9-2-101(c): the inspector orders correction within 48 hours, and if the occupant does not comply, the inspector sets a hearing under § 9-2-105 before ordering correction again or ordering the dwelling vacated.