GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1997

S	1 

SENATE BILL 23

Short Title:  Require Rental Property Heat.	(Public)

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Sponsors: Senators Reeves; Martin of Guilford and Miller.

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Referred to:  Commerce.

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February 3, 1997

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO REQUIRE THAT EVERY DWELLING UNIT LEASED AS RENTAL PROPERTY IN CERTAIN CITIES BE FURNISHED WITH A SOURCE OF HEAT.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  (a)	By January 1, 1998, every dwelling unit leased as rental property shall have a central heating system or sufficient chimneys, flues, or gas vents, with heating appliances connected, so as to heat at least one habitable room, excluding the kitchen, to a minimum temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit measured three feet above the floor with an outside temperature of 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
(b)	All heating systems and appliances shall be installed and maintained in a good and safe working condition by the owner of the dwelling unit.
(c)	Portable kerosene heaters are not acceptable as a permanent source of heat as required by subsection (a) of this section, but may be used as a supplementary  source in single family dwellings and duplex units.  An owner who has complied with subsection (a) shall not be held in violation of this section where an occupant of a dwelling unit uses a kerosene heater as a primary source of heat.
(d)	This section only applies to cities with a population of 200,000 or over, according to the most recent decennial federal census.
Section 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.