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

Section 5-31 finds that dwellings unfit for human habitation because of dilapidation, fire and accident hazards, or inadequate ventilation, light and sanitary facilities threaten health, safety and welfare, and applies the article throughout the county's planning jurisdiction under the authority of G.S. 153A-365. Section 5-61 is the operative habitability rule: no dwelling may be occupied as an owner-occupant home or let to another for occupancy or use as a human habitation unless it meets every minimum standard in §§ 5-62 through 5-67, which reach structural condition (no leaning, rotted or cracked structural members, weathertight roof and walls, safe egress), basic plumbing, heating and electrical service (connection to potable water and approved sewage disposal, a working kitchen sink, lavatory, tub or shower and water closet, heat sufficient for every habitable room, and code-compliant wiring), ventilation (a window or skylight in every habitable room), and safe, sanitary, rodentproof maintenance of foundations, walls, floors, windows and doors.

Section 5-32 states the article's purpose as protecting health, safety and general welfare by setting minimum habitation and property-maintenance standards, while exempting bona fide farm structures, including permitted migrant labor housing. Section 5-33 grandfathers dwellings already owner-occupied as of June 11, 2001, out of these standards except for elderly or disabled owner-occupants who lack capacity to manage their affairs, but that grandfathering ends the moment the property changes ownership after that date; a rental unit, by definition let to a tenant rather than occupied by its owner, gets no such exemption. The county's code official administers the article, inspecting on complaint and enforcing under § 5-68.