H.B. 488's Effect on Rental Housing

Last year brought changes for North Carolina’s Building Code Council (BCC), the organization responsible for establishing and maintaining the state’s building codes. The BCC faced changes after Republican lawmakers overrode Governor Cooper’s veto of H.B. 488. The bill put a freeze on performing a comprehensive review of the Residential Code until 2031 (prior to this bill, beginning in 2019, the Residential Code was to be comprehensively reviewed every six years). Under H.B. 488, the Residential Code Council must review several parts of the code and make changes by Jan. 1, 2026.

Representative Mark Brody, the bill’s lead sponsor, said in a statement, "This bill prevents costly changes to the residential building code that will drive up costs and make it more difficult for hardworking people to purchase a new home.” More regulations, delays, and inspections increase the cost of rent making it difficult for lower income residents to secure housing.

Should members of the rental housing industry be fearful of the changes H.B. 488 brings? It’s likely not going to have negative consequences for the rental housing industry. Instead, rental property owners should be focused on nurturing their relationships with the seventeen appointed members of the BCC and educating them about their business.