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The General Assembly largely concluded its work for the summer after adjourning in early July, enacting 54 new laws. While lawmakers are scheduled to return next week, the exact schedule and agenda are still being finalized. In the meantime, below is a summary of the legislation enacted thus far that is most relevant to the rental housing industry.
Our next update will cover the major bills that remain under consideration, including AANC priorities such as rental application fraud legislation and broader regulatory reform efforts.
Property Management
Among its provisions, H83: Revise Laws on Minors/Human Trafficking includes a new human trafficking training requirement for third-party contractors providing housekeeping or check-in/check-out services for short-term vacation rentals.
S153: North Carolina Border Protection Act includes provisions limiting eligibility for local- and state-administered housing assistance programs, including HOME funds, Housing Choice Vouchers, Community Development Block Grant programs, and other state housing assistance, to individuals who are lawfully present in the United States. This bill was initially vetoed by the Governor in 2025, and the veto was overridden by lawmakers last month.
Taxation
Two constitutional amendments related to income and property taxes will appear on the November 3, 2026 ballot. If approved by voters, S1080: Lower Taxes for All NC will lower the maximum state income tax rate allowed under the North Carolina Constitution from 7% to 3.5%. North Carolina’s 2026 tax rate is 3.99%, down from 4.25% in 2025. H1089: Const. Amend. Property Tax Levy Limit would require the General Assembly to establish a statutory limit on annual local property tax levy increases. If approved by voters, the measure could provide greater long-term tax predictability for housing.
Additionally, S889: Property Tax Reappraisal Moratorium delays the implementation of 2026 property tax reappraisals in certain qualifying counties until 2027, allowing those counties to continue using their current property values for one additional year. After additional modifications to qualifying counties were made through S474: Adjust Counties/Reappraisal Moratorium, the moratorium applies to the following counties: Anson, Bladen, Chowan, Davidson, Guilford, Onslow, Pamlico, and Pender. The moratorium also applies to Buncombe County unless the county adopts a revenue-neutral tax rate.
S695: Incent Development Finance District Funding creates a new property tax incentive for qualifying developments located within locally designated development finance districts. Beginning with tax years on or after July 1, 2027, eligible builder-held property may qualify for a 90% property tax exclusion for up to ten years.
Development and Redevelopment
A significant bill for housing affordability this year was H162: Parking Lot Reform/Stormwater Control, which includes several reforms intended to reduce development costs and remove unnecessary local regulatory barriers. Beginning January 1, 2027, local governments generally may no longer require minimum parking requirements or larger parking spaces than state law allows. The bill also limits when local governments may require additional stormwater controls for redevelopment projects, helping reduce costs for renovations and value-add projects while providing greater flexibility for new housing development.
The General Assembly also passed H376: Water/Wastewater Affordability & Capacity Act, which seeks to address water and wastewater affordability. Provisions include:
- Wastewater design flow rate study: The Environmental Management Commission will study whether current commercial/industrial wastewater design flow rates remain accurate.
- Stormwater control limits on redevelopment: Local stormwater rules cannot require new or increased controls for preexisting development, and for redevelopment can only require controls sized to the net increase in impervious surface, calculated on a square-foot-for-square-foot basis and not applied retroactively.
- On-site wastewater: Updates permitting standards and conditions for on-site (septic-type) wastewater systems. The bill also states that “advanced pretreatment” systems may be used instead of or alongside traditional septic tanks, if they meet the established standards for better than septic tank effluent quality.
Applying to only Brunswick County, H1222: Record Development Approval Votes/Brunswick eliminates the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners' ability to delegate zoning map amendment decisions and requires all development approvals to be decided by a recorded vote of the Board.
Employment Law
A big win for the business community, H315: Prohibit Litigation Invest/Amend WC Benefits prohibits third-party litigation funding and raises the workers' comp minimum weekly benefit from $30 to $50 and the discretionary award cap from $20,000 to $40,000.
Finally, H258: Worker Safety Act of 2026 updates the Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act, the general statues governing North Carolina’s employment discrimination complaint procedures.
All new session laws can be reviewed here.
See our July 9th update to review the state budget provisions.
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