NC RESIDENTIAL INSPECTION LAW

As you may be aware, North Carolina signed Residential Inspection Bill SB 683 (the "Bill") into law in June 2011 in large part due to the efforts of the Apartment Association of North Carolina and it's regional branches like the Triangle Apartment Association. Unfortunately the Bill was not passed as it was originally written due to negotiations at the General Assembly and it is neither as clear nor as useful as the original proposed draft.

In light of the passage of SB 683 many North Carolina municipalities are now trying to amend their inspection ordinances or to pass new ordinances. These municipalities include Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville, Wendell, and Charlotte, and they are having varying degrees of success. I will discuss and update you on their progress in upcoming posts.

If a municipality you have a rental property in passes a new inspection ordinance you should not assume that it complies with the Bill. When assessing whether the municipalities are complying with the Bill, key areas include:

1) Does the ordinance in question discriminate between rental and owner occupies housing?

2)Are they charging a rental inspection fee to all landlords? If so, where they doing it before June 1, 2011?

3) Are all landlord's required to take a landlord training course?

4) Do the fees charged exceed the statutory authority granted in the Bill?

If your local proposed ordinance is not legal or desirable you may be able to shape the process by voicing your opinion at the appropriate time before your local municipal council. This can be particularly effective if you involve other landlords and property managers.

If you find out about a municipality, other than those listed above passing an inspection ordinance please let me know, and I will try to get it in front of the right people to evaluate it and determine whether it is legal or not, and I will also make everyone who read these posts of the potential ordinance.

Norm Praet, Esq.
Praet Law Firm, PLLC
(919) 627-7261

CONGRATULATIONS AANC! THE RESIDENTIAL BUILDING INSPECTIONS BILL IS NOW LAW!!

Congratulations to the Apartment Association of North Carolina, the Triangle Apartment Association, and all who supported the Residential Buildings Inspections Bill. On June 23, 2011, the Residential Inspections Bill, H 683 became law in North Carolina.

This bill was developed by the AANC in response to Raleigh's Probationary Rental Occupancy Ordinance, and other similar programs, that impose significant fees on landlords with little benefit to either the the landlords or tenants of North Carolina.

Key provisions of the law provide:

• A prohibition mandatory inspections/pre-occupancy inspections. The City of Durham made no attempt to hide the fact that they wanted a City-wide inspection program, and this law stops such proposals in their tracks.

• For many owner/operators, fees will drop by thousands of dollars per-property: only $50 for properties that have 20 or more rental units; $25.00 for properties that have 4 to 19 units; and $15 for properties with three or less units.

• Better yet, only cities with EXISTING registration programs can charge fees. At present, only the Town of Garner and City of Raleigh have such ordinances in place. Effective June 1, no other locality may create one -- another huge achievement!

Norm Praet, Esq.
North Carolina Landlord Tenant Lawyer

The Anti-Prop Bill Needs Your Help Now More Than Ever!

Today from the Triangle Apartment Association:

Dear Industry Leaders,
As some of you are aware, SB 683 was pulled from the committee meeting yesterday. Sen Hunt is looking to amend language to potentially compromise with the bill’s opposition. To what extend, we are unsure at this time however the article below states that Sen Hunt may change language to include the allowance of “reduced fees”. TAA strongly believes there is no benefit or service that is attached to the fee nor has there been any justification as to where the fees are going- the bottom line TAA believes any fee imposed is an additional tax burden placed on renters!

PLEASE contact Senator Hunt 919.733.5850 or neal.hunt@ncleg.net & THANK him for his leadership on the bill & ask him to stay the course.

TAA is working on several things; rebuttal to the article below, letters to the editor, mobilizing members to contact Sen Hunt and TAA has contacted Sen Hunt’s office to get a quick meeting to share the last two years of Raleigh Rental Registration/enforcement data.

We need your HELP!! Please contact Senator Hunt & thank him for his leadership in sponsoring the bill and ask him to stay the course!! Please feel free to share with your groups and anyone that is impacted by this legislation!!

Thanks in advance for your immediate attention to this EXTREMELY important legislative initiative!