Code Enforcement

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Code Enforcement works to improve the appearance of Charlotte’s communities and maintain standards of living across the city. This HNS division helps strengthen Charlotte’s neighborhoods by addressing nuisance, housing, non-residential building code and zoning violations, and works with owners and tenants to bring properties into compliance. 

The city’s code inspectors are out in the community every day, proactively canvassing neighborhoods to identify and address violations before they become complaints. The people who work in Code Enforcement are highly trained and dedicated professionals.  They approach issues in a responsive and proactive manner to ensure basic living and working standards are enforced in every community.  The Code Enforcement Division investigates more than 50,000 properties per year.

 

Video Transcript

Intro

0:06

Hi, my name is Jane Taylon and I am the code enforcement division

0:09

manager for the housing and Neighborhood Services division

0:12

at the City of Charlotte.

What is Code Enforcement?

0:13

The code Enforcement division is responsible for enforcing

0:16

several local ordinances. These include the health and

0:19

sanitation ordinance, the minimum Housing Code Ordinance,

0:22

the non residential building code ordinance and the zoning

0:25

ordinance.

What is the Health & Sanitation Ordinance?

0:27

The health and Sanitation Ordinance, also known as the

0:30

Nuisance Ordinance, requires property owners to maintain

0:33

their premises in a safe and sanitary condition and is only

0:36

enforced within the city limits.

0:39

Nuisance violations may include overgrown vegetation, junk motor

0:44

vehicles and neglected conditions.

What is the Minimum Housing Code Ordinance?

0:50

The minimum Housing Code Ordinance sets basic standards

0:53

that homeowners, tenants and landlords must follow to ensure

0:57

residential properties are in a safe and clean condition.

1:00

Housing violations may include an operable smoke and carbon

1:04

monoxide detectors, broken windows and electrical, plumbing

1:07

or structural issues.

What is the Non-Residential Building Code Ordinance

1:14

The non residential building Code Ordinance makes sure our

1:17

cities commercial structures are safe and sanitary. It helps make

1:20

Charlotte a great place to live and work, and forcing standards

1:23

for the healthy upkeep of places where many of us spend our time.

What is the Zoning Ordinance?

1:31

The Zoning ordinance outlines how a property can be used

1:34

without this type of ordinance. A factory might be built in the

1:37

middle of a park or a nightclub next to a school. Zoning

1:40

prevents this by ensuring the way a property is used supports

1:44

the safety and well-being of its surrounding neighborhood. Zoning

1:47

violations include operating a business without a permit, large

1:50

commercial vehicles and residential neighborhoods,

1:53

construction without permits and property use not allowed for a

1:57

zoning classification.

1:59

Code inspectors are out in the community every day, working

What do code inspectors do?

2:02

alongside our partners. We proactively canvas our

2:05

neighborhoods to identify and address violations. We partner

2:08

with our neighborhood organizations to conduct

2:11

outreach efforts through knock and talks to educate our

2:14

residents, and we partner with our colleagues in the Community

2:17

engagement division to provide targeted outreach as needed for

2:21

our residents. One thing to keep in mind is we can't do it alone,

2:24

ways that you can help include joining your neighborhood

What can residents do to help?

2:28

organization.

2:28

Or becoming active in your homeowners association, reaching

2:33

out to neighbors who may be struggling with property

2:36

maintenance to see how you may be able to help and reporting

2:40

code concerns to the city. Now let's talk about how to report a

How to Report a Code Violation

2:45

suspected code violation. There are three different ways to

2:49

report a suspected violation to the city. They are over the

2:53

phone using the CLT plus mobile application and through

2:57

servicerequest.charlottenc.gov.

3:00

First, let's talk about how to file a report by phone. To do

Filing a code violation report by phone (311)

3:03

this, dial 311 to connect with a customer service representative.

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The CSR will ask what type of violation is being reported to

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ensure it gets routed correctly. The CSR may also ask for

3:14

additional details to ensure the inspector has enough information

3:18

to identify the suspected violation.

3:21

To make the call run more efficiently, please have

3:23

prepared the exact address and a description of the violation.

3:27

After reporting through 311 filers can expect a nuisance and

3:30

zoning complaint to be inspected within 3 business days and to be

3:34

contacted by the inspector if they provide contact

3:37

information.

3:40

To file through the SLT mobile app, download the app on your

Filing a code violation report via the CLT+ mobile app

3:43

smartphone after it is downloaded, launch the app and

3:46

select the appropriate request.

Filing a code violation report through www.servicerequest.charlottenc.gov

3:52

Next, let's talk about how to file through

3:55

servicerequest.charlotte.gov. On this page, you need to select a

3:59

request under neighborhoods or zoning for suspected code

4:02

violations.

4:06

To learn more about submitting a report of a suspected code

4:10

violation, visit charlottenc.gov and in the search bar type

4:13

report a code violation.

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Thank you for watching.