A major overhaul of North Carolina’s building code, originally set to go into effect in mid-2025, has been pushed back by at least a year following the passage of House Bill 47. The legislation, signed into law by Governor Josh Stein on March 20 as Session Law 2025-2, is officially titled the Disaster Recovery Act of 2025–Part I. While widely reported for allocating substantial funding for storm recovery, the law also includes a significant and underreported provision affecting the construction and development industries statewide.

In addition to funneling $524 million to aid homebuilding, agriculture, and infrastructure recovery efforts in the western part of the state after Hurricane Helene, and sending $217 million to Eastern North Carolina for Hurricane Florence-related damages, H47 includes a delayed rollout of the 2024 North Carolina State Building Code.

Senator Tim Moffitt (R-Henderson, Polk, and Rutherford Counties) sponsored an amendment to the legislation that halts the adoption of the updated building standards. The bill stipulates that the new code, originally scheduled to take effect July 1, 2025, will now only be implemented 12 months after two specific criteria are met.

Under Section 5.12 of the law, the delay will extend until the State Fire Marshal certifies that the New Code has been:

1. Officially published and distributed to state and local government officials, and made available for public purchase, and
2. That the Residential Code Council—a newly formed regulatory body responsible for residential construction standards—is fully constituted and operational.

As of April 7, the Office of the State Fire Marshal stated in a press release that it expects the new building code to be distributed to relevant parties by July 31, 2025. However, the agency emphasized that it has no control over the timeline for assembling the Residential Code Council, whose members must be appointed by the Governor and the General Assembly.

With that in mind, the soonest the new building standards could take effect is July 31, 2026. Until then, the 2018 North Carolina State Building Code remains the default regulation.

Still, the Fire Marshal’s office clarified that “the 2024 Code may still be used as an alternative method of construction if requested by the building owner or their agent,” meaning developers and contractors interested in using the new standards can do so voluntarily under current rules.

It remains uncertain whether the extra time will lead to revisions of the 2024 Code. The delay comes amid ongoing discussions about the state’s regulatory frameworks for residential and commercial construction, and further updates could emerge before the code finally takes effect.

“This delay is likely just one part of the broader building code review process,” said one state official familiar with the matter. “Additional changes may emerge between now and July 2026.”

Originally reported by James W. Norment in National Law Review.