Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-42, landlords must keep rental premises fit and habitable, comply with building codes, maintain plumbing, electrical, heating and other facilities, and provide working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Tenants enforce these duties by civil action, but cannot withhold rent until a court approves it.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-42 requires the landlord to comply with applicable building and housing codes and to "make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition." The landlord must keep common areas safe, maintain electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating and air-conditioning facilities in good working order, and provide operable smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Imminently dangerous conditions must be repaired within a reasonable time. Under § 42-44 these duties are enforceable by civil action, but § 42-44(c) states a tenant "may not unilaterally withhold rent prior to a judicial determination of a right to do so."
Tenants may sue for rent abatement, repair costs, or damages under § 42-44. A landlord who fails to maintain fit premises may also face local housing-code enforcement; there is no fixed statutory fine in Chapter 42.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Durham, NC
Durham caps daytime sound at 60 dBA (8 AM to 11 PM) and nighttime sound at 50 dBA (11 PM to 8 AM) under Ch. 26, Sec. 26-23. Measured at property line using A...
Durham, NC
Durham UDO Section 9.9 limits residential fences to 4 feet in front yards and 8 feet in side and rear yards. Corner lots face additional restrictions along s...
Durham, NC
Durham does not require a permit for most residential fences or walls. Permits are required for retaining walls, pool barriers on single-family parcels, prop...
Durham, NC
Durham UDO Section 9.9 sets general fence standards including setbacks, orientation, and vision-clearance rules. Fences between structures and streets within...
Durham, NC
Durham requires a building permit for all retaining walls. Retaining walls over 4 feet at street frontage must be terraced in Design Districts. Walls over 8 ...
Durham, NC
Durham UDO 9.9 prohibits razor wire, concertina wire, and barbed wire in residential districts. Uncoated chain link is banned in CI and Design Districts.
See how Durham's repairs & habitability rules stack up against other locations.
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