North Carolina § 42-43 - Tenant to maintain dwelling unit.

§ 42-43. Tenant to maintain dwelling unit.

The tenant shall: Keep that part of the premises that the tenant occupies and uses as clean and safe as the conditions of the premises permit and cause no unsafe or unsanitary conditions in the common areas and remainder of the premises that the tenant uses. Dispose of all ashes, rubbish, garbage, and other waste in a clean and safe manner. Keep all plumbing fixtures in the dwelling unit or used by the tenant as clean as their condition permits. Not deliberately or negligently destroy, deface, damage, or remove any part of the premises, nor render inoperable the smoke alarm or carbon monoxide alarm provided by the landlord, or knowingly permit any person to do so. Comply with any and all obligations imposed upon the tenant by current applicable building and housing codes. Be responsible for all damage, defacement, or removal of any property inside a dwelling unit in the tenant's exclusive control unless the damage, defacement or removal was due to ordinary wear and tear, acts of the landlord or the landlord's agent, defective products supplied or repairs authorized by the landlord, acts of third parties not invitees of the tenant, or natural forces. Notify the landlord, in writing, of the need for replacement of or repairs to a smoke alarm or carbon monoxide alarm. The landlord shall ensure that a smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm are operable and in good repair at the beginning of each tenancy. Unless the landlord and the tenant have a written agreement to the contrary, the landlord shall place new batteries in a battery-operated smoke alarm and battery-operated carbon monoxide alarm at the beginning of a tenancy and the tenant shall replace the batteries as needed during the tenancy, except where the smoke alarm is a tamper-resistant, 10-year lithium battery smoke alarm as required by G.S. 42-42(a)(5a). Failure of the tenant to replace the batteries as needed shall not be considered as negligence on the part of the tenant or the landlord. The landlord shall notify the tenant in writing of any breaches of the tenant's obligations under this section except in emergency situations. History (1977, c. 770, s. 1; 1995, c. 111, s. 3; 1998-212, s. 17.16(j); 2008-219, s. 3; 2012-92, s. 2.) Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2008-219, s. 3, effective January 1, 2010, and applicable to residential rental agreements in effect on and after that date, inserted "or carbon monoxide detector" in subdivision (a)(4); and in subdivision (a)(7), inserted "or carbon monoxide detector" at the end of the first sentence, substituted "and carbon monoxide detector are" for "is" in the second sentence, and inserted "and battery-operated carbon monoxide detector" in the third sentence. Session Laws 2012-92, s. 2, effective December 31, 2012, substituted "alarm" for "detector" throughout subdivisions (a)(4) and (a)(7); in the next to the last sentence of subdivision (a)(7), inserted "except where the smoke alarm is a tamper-resistant, 10-year lithium battery smoke alarm as required by G.S. 42-42(a)(5a)."