§ 160A-443.1. Heat source required.

NORTH CAROLINA STATUTES AND CODES

§ 160A‑443.1. Heatsource required.

(a) A city shall, by ordinance, require that by January 1, 2000,every dwelling unit leased as rental property within the city shall have, at aminimum, a central or electric heating system or sufficient chimneys, flues, orgas vents, with heating appliances connected, so as to heat at least onehabitable room, excluding the kitchen, to a minimum temperature of 68 degreesFahrenheit measured three feet above the floor with an outside temperature of20 degrees Fahrenheit.

(b) If a dwelling unit contains a heating system or heatingappliances that meet the requirements of subsection (a) of this section, theowner of the dwelling unit shall not be required to install a new heatingsystem or heating appliances, but the owner shall be required to maintain theexisting heating system or heating appliances in a good and safe workingcondition. Otherwise, the owner of the dwelling unit shall install a heatingsystem or heating appliances that meet the requirements of subsection (a) ofthis section and shall maintain the heating system or heating appliances in agood and safe working condition.

(c) Portable kerosene heaters are not acceptable as a permanentsource of heat as required by subsection (a) of this section but may be used asa supplementary source in single family dwellings and duplex units. An ownerwho has complied with subsection (a) shall not be held in violation of thissection where an occupant of a dwelling unit uses a kerosene heater as aprimary source of heat.

(d) This section applies only to cities with a population of200,000 or over, according to the most recent decennial federal census.

(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed as:

(1) Diminishing the rights of or remedies available to anytenant under a lease agreement, statute, or at common law; or

(2) Prohibiting a city from adopting an ordinance with morestringent heating requirements than provided for by this section. (1999‑14, s. 1.)