Durham, NC Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

Article VI of the Durham City Code, the "Housing Code," applies to all housing in the city "irrespective of when such housing was constructed, altered or repaired," including trailers and demountable structures (§ 10-232(a)). Section 10-234 sets the operative fitness standards: every dwelling unit needs a principal room of at least 120 square feet, a private bathroom with toilet, lavatory and tub or shower, and habitable rooms, including bedrooms, of at least 70 square feet with a seven-foot ceiling height in any dimension. Floor area must total at least 150 square feet for the first occupant plus 100 square feet per additional occupant.

Kitchens require a working stove connection, food storage space and a sink; gasoline stoves and portable kerosene cookers are banned outright. Heating units must maintain 68°F in every habitable room, bathroom and toilet, measured three feet above the floor; portable space heaters cannot serve as a primary heat source. The city's housing administrator, who sits within the Department of Neighborhood Improvement Services, inspects dwellings, keeps a violation inventory, and under § 10-239 can enter premises, issue a written complaint and hold a hearing within 10 to 30 days of service.

If a unit is found unfit, the administrator issues an order requiring repair, alteration or improvement, or, when the cost of repair exceeds 50 percent of the property's value, an order to repair or demolish. S. 160D-305 and 160D-1208, hears appeals from the administrator's decisions and can order repair, vacating, closing or demolition of noncompliant housing when an owner does not comply.