Mebane, NC Rental Inspections: Inspection Programs (2026)

Mebane runs its rental inspection program through the Minimum Housing Code in Article V of Chapter 6. Sec. 6-147(a) makes it the inspector's duty to diligently examine residential buildings and accessory structures within the city and its environs whenever the substandard conditions described in Sec. 6-131 appear present, so the program is triggered by complaint or observed conditions rather than a fixed rotating schedule. Sec. 6-149 lays out how a preliminary investigation starts, whether from a public authority's petition, a complaint letter from the occupant or two residents, or the inspector's own initiative, followed by written notice, a hearing set no less than ten and no more than 30 days out, and a final written order to repair, alter, improve, vacate or demolish within a period the inspector sets, up to 90 days.

Once that order has been issued against a dwelling, Sec. 6-150 makes it unlawful for the owner or an agent to rent or offer it for rent until they file for and receive a certificate of compliance, which the inspector issues only after reinspecting and confirming the repairs, alterations or improvements were actually made and the structure now conforms to the article. The first two compliance reinspections are free; the city charges a fee, set from time to time by the city council, for every reinspection after that.

An owner or agent who leases a dwelling before securing the certificate is subject to prosecution in state district court, and Sec. 6-150 directs the inspector to obtain an arrest warrant for that violation, on top of the general penalty in Sec. 1-6.