To the Honorable Members of the North Carolina General Assembly,

No family in North Carolina should have to choose between paying rent for a home with black mold, faulty wiring, and no heat, or facing eviction. Yet, across our state, thousands of tenants are forced into this impossible choice every day. Unscrupulous landlords are collecting rent on properties that are unsafe and unhealthy, while families suffer and our communities are destabilized. This is not just a housing issue; it is a public health crisis and a moral failure.

The problem is real, and the data proves it.
Consider the case of WNY Clubway Apartments managed by Apartment Advantage Group in Pitt County. Following a series of tenant complaints about infrastructure failures, the landlord, a multi-state corporation, unleashed a wave of retaliatory eviction filings. This wasn't random; it was a systematic effort that impacted 148 households and caused an estimated $2.2 million in economic harm to the community. This is not an isolated incident. It is a business model. Predatory landlords across North Carolina are using complex corporate structures and retaliatory tactics to profit from unsafe housing, knowing that our current laws are too weak to stop them. They count on tenants being too afraid to speak up for fear of losing their homes.

It’s time to hold slumlords accountable.

NC Tenants Union has a proven, common-sense solution that is already working in Durham, Charlotte, and Pittsboro. It’s time to take it statewide.

We, the undersigned residents of North Carolina, demand that the General Assembly introduce and pass a statewide "No Rent for Slumlords" law. This law would:

1.Prohibit landlords from collecting rent on any property with "imminently dangerous" conditions that threaten tenant health and safety, such as:
•Unsafe electrical wiring or gas leaks
•Lack of potable water or a working sewer system
•No operable heating during cold months
•Serious structural damage, including collapsing roofs or floors
•Widespread and unmitigated toxic mold

2.Empower tenants by giving them a legal defense against eviction if a landlord tries to retaliate for non-payment of rent on an unsafe unit.

3.Create a powerful financial incentive for landlords to make critical repairs promptly, shifting the cost of neglect from tenants back to the property owners where it belongs.

This is not a radical idea. It is a fundamental statement of fairness. If a property is not fit to live in, a landlord is not fit to collect rent on it. By passing a statewide "No Rent for Slumlords" law, you can protect millions of renters, stabilize communities, and ensure that no child in North Carolina has to do their homework in a home that is making them sick.

We urge you to stand with tenants, not slumlords. Follow the lead of Durham, Charlotte, and Pittsboro. Make this critical protection the law for all of North Carolina in the next legislative session.

Sign this petition to demand a safe and healthy home for every North Carolinian!