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

Sec. 5-104 lists the equipment every dwelling unit in the unincorporated county must have to be occupied. Plumbing must connect to public sewer or an approved septic system, and every unit needs a kitchen sink and a bathroom with a toilet, sink, and tub or shower, all with hot and cold water, with the tub/shower and toilet in a room affording privacy. Heating must reach 68 degrees Fahrenheit in every habitable room, measured three feet above the floor, when it is 20 degrees outside; portable heaters do not satisfy this standard.

Every unit must be wired for electric lights and outlets, with at least one light fixture in every bathroom and laundry room, and all wiring kept in good repair. Sec. 5-102 divides responsibility: owners must provide and maintain the plumbing, heating, and electrical systems and keep shared spaces sanitary, while occupants keep their own space clean and use fixtures with reasonable care; owners remain ultimately responsible for violations regardless of any lease terms shifting duties to a tenant. Sec. 5-103 adds structural rules: no rotted or damaged load-bearing members, weatherproof roofs and walls, safe stairs and porches capable of a normal load, and adequate means of egress in a fire.

Room sizes must meet the North Carolina Building Code standard in effect when the unit was built, and every habitable room needs an operable window sized at least eight percent of the floor area, or mechanical ventilation, plus screens on doors and windows when there is no air conditioning. The public officer, the Director of Planning and Development, enforces these standards on complaint or inspection under Sec. 5-121.