North Carolina eviction notice and late fee rules

Notice for unpaid rent

10 days — A lease with a fixed rent due date carries an implied forfeiture of the term if the tenant fails to pay within 10 days after the landlord or agent demands all past-due rent.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

A year-to-year tenancy may be ended by notice given one month or more before the end of the current year; a month-to-month tenancy by seven days' notice; a week-to-week tenancy by two days' notice.

Late-fee limit

For monthly rent, the late fee may not exceed $15.00 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is greater.

Grace period before a late fee

A late fee may be charged only if a rental payment is five calendar days or more late, counting the day after the rent was due as the first day.

What we could not verify for North Carolina: late fee, notice and eviction facts found; no statewide just-cause requirement or separate lease-violation cure period was found in G.S. Chapter 42 sections reviewed (42-3, 42-14, 42-25.6, 42-26, 42-28, 42-29, 42-33, 42-37.1, 42-46).

Notice for unpaid rent

A lease with a fixed rent due date carries an implied forfeiture of the term if the tenant fails to pay within 10 days after the landlord or agent demands all past-due rent.

“there shall be implied a forfeiture of the term upon failure to pay the rent within 10 days after a demand is made by the lessor or his agent on said lessee for all past-due rent”
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-3

Paying to stop an eviction

In an action for possession based on forfeiture for nonpayment of rent, if the tenant pays or tenders the rent due and the costs of the action before judgment, all further proceedings stop.

“If, in any action brought to recover the possession of demised premises upon a forfeiture for the nonpayment of rent, the tenant, before judgment given in such action, pays or tenders the rent due and the costs of the action, all further proceedings in such action shall cease.”
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-33

Notice for other lease violations

A tenant who holds over after a demand to surrender may be removed through summary ejectment when the tenant has done or omitted an act by which, under the lease terms, the tenant's estate has ended. The statute sets no separate cure period.

“When the tenant or lessee, or other person under him, has done or omitted any act by which, according to the stipulations of the lease, his estate has ceased.”
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-26(a)(2)

Ending a month-to-month or other periodic tenancy

A year-to-year tenancy may be ended by notice given one month or more before the end of the current year; a month-to-month tenancy by seven days' notice; a week-to-week tenancy by two days' notice.

“A tenancy from year to year may be terminated by a notice to quit given one month or more before the end of the current year of the tenancy; a tenancy from month to month by a like notice of seven days; a tenancy from week to week, of two days.”
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-14

Where the tenancy is only the rental of a space for a manufactured home, notice to quit must be given at least 60 days before the end of the current rental period, whatever the term of the tenancy.

“Provided, however, where the tenancy involves only the rental of a space for a manufactured home as defined in G.S. 143-143.9(6), a notice to quit must be given at least 60 days before the end of the current rental period, regardless of the term of the tenancy.”
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-14

Lockouts and utility shutoffs

State policy is that a residential tenant may be evicted, dispossessed, or otherwise removed from the dwelling only through the procedure in Article 3 or Article 7 of Chapter 42.

“It is the public policy of the State of North Carolina, in order to maintain the public peace, that a residential tenant shall be evicted, dispossessed or otherwise constructively or actually removed from his dwelling unit only in accordance with the procedure prescribed in Article 3 or Article 7 of this Chapter.”
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-25.6

A tenant removed or subject to attempted removal contrary to Article 2A may recover possession or end the lease, and the landlord is liable for damages caused by the removal or attempted removal.

“If any lessor, landlord, or agent removes or attempts to remove a tenant from a dwelling unit in any manner contrary to this Article, the tenant shall be entitled to recover possession or to terminate his lease and the lessor, landlord or agent shall be liable to the tenant for damages caused by the tenant's removal or attempted removal.”
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-25.9(a)

Damages in a tenant's action under Article 2A are limited to actual damages as in trespass or conversion, and do not include punitive damages, treble damages, or damages for emotional distress.

“Damages in any action brought by a tenant under this Article shall be limited to actual damages as in an action for trespass or conversion and shall not include punitive damages, treble damages or damages for emotional distress.”
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-25.9(a)

Retaliation

In a summary ejectment action, a tenant may raise retaliatory eviction as an affirmative defense and present evidence that the landlord's action is substantially in response to a protected act occurring within 12 months of the filing.

“In an action for summary ejectment pursuant to G.S. 42-26, a tenant may raise the affirmative defense of retaliatory eviction and may present evidence that the landlord's action is substantially in response to the occurrence within 12 months of the filing of such action of one or more of the protected acts described in subsection (a) of this section.”
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-37.1(b)

If the court finds an ejectment action is retaliatory, it must deny the request for ejectment; the landlord may still receive rent due or another appropriate judgment.

“If the court finds that an ejectment action is retaliatory, as defined by this Article, it shall deny the request for ejectment; provided, that a dismissal of the request for ejectment shall not prevent the landlord from receiving payments for rent due or any other appropriate judgment.”
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-37.2(a)

What the notice must say and how it is delivered

The officer must mail a copy of the summons and complaint to the defendant's last known address no later than the end of the next business day or as soon as practicable.

“The officer receiving the summons shall mail a copy of the summons and complaint to the defendant no later than the end of the next business day or as soon as practicable at the defendant's last known address in a stamped addressed envelope provided by the plaintiff to the action.”
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-29

Court deadlines and the eviction case

After a summary ejectment complaint is filed, the clerk issues a summons requiring the defendant to appear at a time and place not more than seven days from issuance, excluding weekends and legal holidays.

“the clerk of superior court shall issue a summons requiring the defendant to appear at a certain time and place not to exceed seven days from the issuance of the summons, excluding weekends and legal holidays, to answer the complaint.”
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-28

Late fees and grace periods

A late fee may be charged only if a rental payment is five calendar days or more late, counting the day after the rent was due as the first day.

“In all residential rental agreements in which a definite time for the payment of the rent is fixed, the parties may agree to a late fee not inconsistent with the provisions of this subsection, to be chargeable only if any rental payment is five calendar days or more late, with the first day being the day after the rent was due.”
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-46(a)

For monthly rent, the late fee may not exceed $15.00 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is greater.

“Is due in monthly installments, a landlord may charge a late fee not to exceed fifteen dollars ($15.00) or five percent (5%) of the monthly rent, whichever is greater.”
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-46(a)(1)

For weekly rent, the late fee may not exceed $4.00 or 5% of the weekly rent, whichever is greater.

“Is due in weekly installments, a landlord may charge a late fee not to exceed four dollars ($4.00) or five percent (5%) of the weekly rent, whichever is greater.”
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-46(a)(2)

A late fee may be imposed only once for each late payment, and may not be deducted from a later rent payment so as to put that later payment in default.

“A late fee under subsection (a) of this section may be imposed only one time for each late rental payment. A late fee for a specific late rental payment may not be deducted from a subsequent rental payment so as to cause the subsequent rental payment to be in default.”
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-46(b)

If rent is subsidized by HUD, USDA, a State agency, a public housing authority, or a local government, any fee under this section is calculated on the tenant's share of the contract rent only.

“If the rent is subsidized by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, by the United States Department of Agriculture, by a State agency, by a public housing authority, or by a local government, any fee charged pursuant to this section shall be calculated on the tenant's share of the contract rent only, and the rent subsidy shall not be included.”
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-46(h)(5)

Any residential rental agreement provision contrary to G.S. 42-46 is void and unenforceable.

“Any provision of a residential rental agreement contrary to the provisions of this section is against the public policy of this State and therefore void and unenforceable.”
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-46(h)(4)

If you have received a notice

1. Write down the date you received it and how it was delivered.
2. Check what it asks for — payment, fixing a problem, or moving out — and the deadline it gives against the North Carolina rules above.
3. Keep paying what you can document; ask for receipts.
4. If you receive court papers, note the response deadline on them; a legal-aid office or the court’s self-help center can help.

Check another situation with the eviction notice checker or the late fee checker.

Common questions

How much notice does a landlord in North Carolina have to give for unpaid rent?

A lease with a fixed rent due date carries an implied forfeiture of the term if the tenant fails to pay within 10 days after the landlord or agent demands all past-due rent. (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-3).

How much notice is needed to end a month-to-month tenancy in North Carolina?

A year-to-year tenancy may be ended by notice given one month or more before the end of the current year; a month-to-month tenancy by seven days' notice; a week-to-week tenancy by two days' notice. (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-14).

Is there a limit on rent late fees in North Carolina?

For monthly rent, the late fee may not exceed $15.00 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is greater. (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-46(a)(1)).