North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 42 Landlord and Tenant

Article 1 - General Provisions.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-1. Lessor and lessee not partners
No lessor of property, merely by reason that he is to receive as rent or compensation for its use a share of the proceeds...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-2. Attornment unnecessary on conveyance of reversions, etc
Every conveyance of any rent, reversion, or remainder in lands, tenements or hereditaments, otherwise sufficient, shall be deemed complete without attornment by the holders...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-3. Term forfeited for nonpayment of rent
In all verbal or written leases of real property of any kind in which is fixed a definite time for the payment of the...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-4. Recovery for use and occupation
When any person occupies land of another by the permission of such other, without any express agreement for rent, or upon a parol lease...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-5. Rent apportioned, where lease terminated by death
If a lease of land, in which rent is reserved, payable at the end of the year or other certain period of time, is...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-6. Rents, annuities, etc., apportioned, where right to payment terminated by death
In all cases where rents, rent charges, annuities, pensions, dividends, or any other payments of any description, are made payable at fixed periods to...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-7. In lieu of emblements, farm lessee holds out year, with rents apportioned
When any lease for years of any land let for farming on which a rent is reserved determines during a current year of the...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-8. Grantees of reversion and assigns of lease have reciprocal rights under covenants
The grantee in every conveyance of reversion in lands, tenements or hereditaments has the like advantages and remedies by action or entry against the...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-9. Agreement to rebuild, how construed in case of fire
An agreement in a lease to repair a demised house shall not be construed to bind the contracting party to rebuild or repair in...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-10. Tenant not liable for accidental damage
A tenant for life, or years, or for a less term, shall not be liable for damage occurring on the demised premises accidentally, and...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-11. Willful destruction by tenant misdemeanor
If any tenant shall, during his term or after its expiration, willfully and unlawfully demolish, destroy, deface, injure or damage any tenement house, uninhabited...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-12. Lessee may surrender, where building destroyed or damaged
If a demised house, or other building, is destroyed during the term, or so much damaged that it cannot be made reasonably fit for...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-13. Wrongful surrender to other than landlord misdemeanor
Any tenant or lessee of lands who shall willfully, wrongfully and with intent to defraud the landlord or lessor, give up the possession of...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-14. Notice to quit in certain tenancies
A tenancy from year to year may be terminated by a notice to quit given one month or more before the end of the...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-14.1. Rent control
No county or city as defined by G.S. 160A-1 may enact, maintain, or enforce any ordinance or resolution which regulates the amount of rent...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-14.2. Death, illness, or conviction of certain crimes not a material fact
In offering real property for rent or lease it shall not be deemed a material fact that the real property was occupied previously by...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-14.3. Notice of conversion of manufactured home communities
(a) In the event that an owner of a manufactured home community (defined as a parcel of land, whether undivided or subdivided, that has...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-14.4. Notice to State Bar of attorney default on lease
(a) If a landlord has actual knowledge that a tenant is an attorney, the landlord shall deliver notice to the North Carolina State Bar...

Article 2 - Agricultural Tenancies.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-15. Landlord's lien on crops for rents, advances, etc.; enforcement
When lands are rented or leased by agreement, written or oral, for agricultural purposes, or are cultivated by a cropper, unless otherwise agreed between...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-15.1. Landlord's lien on crop insurance for rents, advances, etc.; enforcement
Where lands are rented or leased by agreement, written or oral, for agricultural purposes, or are cultivated by a cropper, unless otherwise agreed between...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-16. Rights of tenants
When the lessor or his assigns gets the actual possession of the crop or any part thereof otherwise than by the mode prescribed in...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-17. Action to settle dispute between parties
When any controversy arises between the parties, and neither party avails himself of the provisions of this Chapter, it is competent for either party...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-18. Tenant's undertaking on continuance or appeal
In case there is a continuance or an appeal from the magistrate's decision to the district court, the lessee or cropper, or the assigns...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-19. Crops delivered to landlord on his undertaking
In case the lessee or cropper, or the assigns of either, at the time of the appeal or continuance mentioned in G.S. 42-18, fails...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-20. Crops sold, if neither party gives undertaking
If neither party gives the undertaking described in G.S. 42-18 and 42-19, it is the duty of the clerk of the superior court to...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-21. Tenant's crop not subject to execution against landlord
Whenever servants and laborers in agriculture shall by their contracts, oral or written, be entitled, for wages, to a part of the crops cultivated...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-22. Unlawful seizure by landlord or removal by tenant misdemeanor
If any landlord shall unlawfully, willfully, knowingly and without process of law, and unjustly seize the crop of his tenant when there is nothing...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-22.1. Failure of tenant to account for sales under tobacco marketing cards
Any tenant or share cropper having possession of a tobacco marketing card issued by any agency of the State or federal government who sells...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-23. Terms of agricultural tenancies in certain counties
All agricultural leases and contracts hereafter made between landlord and tenant for a period of one year or from year to year, whether such...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-24. Turpentine and lightwood leases
This Chapter shall apply to all leases or contracts to lease turpentine trees, or use lightwood for purposes of making tar, and the parties...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-25. Mining and timberland leases
If in a lease of land for mining, or of timbered land for the purpose of manufacturing the timber into goods, rent is reserved,...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-25.1 through 42-25.5. Reserved for future codification purposes

Article 2A - Ejectment of Residential Tenants.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-25.6. Manner of ejectment of residential tenants
It is the public policy of the State of North Carolina, in order to maintain the public peace, that a residential tenant shall be...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-25.7. Distress and distraint not permitted
It is the public policy of the State of North Carolina that distress and distraint are prohibited and that landlords of residential rental property...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-25.8. Contrary lease provisions
Any lease or contract provision contrary to this Article shall be void as against public policy. (1981, c. 566, s. 1.)
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-25.9. Remedies
(a) If any lessor, landlord, or agent removes or attempts to remove a tenant from a dwelling unit in any manner contrary to this...

Article 3 - Summary Ejectment.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-26. Tenant holding over may be dispossessed in certain cases
(a) Any tenant or lessee of any house or land, and the assigns under the tenant or legal representatives of such tenant or lessee,...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-26.1. Expired
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-27. Local: Refusal to perform contract ground for dispossession
When any tenant or cropper who enters into a contract for the rental of land for the current or ensuing year willfully neglects or...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-28. Summons issued by clerk
When the lessor or his assignee files a complaint pursuant to G.S. 42-26 or 42-27, and asks to be put in possession of the...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-29. Service of summons
The officer receiving the summons shall mail a copy of the summons and complaint to the defendant no later than the end of the...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-30. Judgment by confession, where plaintiff has proved case, or failure to appear
The summons shall be returned according to its tenor, and if on its return it appears to have been duly served, and if (i)...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-31. Trial by magistrate
If the defendant by his answer denies any material allegation in the oath of the plaintiff, the magistrate shall hear the evidence and give...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-32. Damages assessed to trial
On appeal to the district court, the jury trying issues joined shall assess the damages of the plaintiff for the detention of his possession...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-33. Rent and costs tendered by tenant
If, in any action brought to recover the possession of demised premises upon a forfeiture for the nonpayment of rent, the tenant, before judgment...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-34. Undertaking on appeal and order staying execution
(a) Upon appeal to the district court, either party may demand that the case be tried at the first session of the court after...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-34.1. Rent pending execution of judgment; post bond pending appeal
(a) If the judgment in district court is against the defendant appellant, it shall be sufficient to stay execution of the judgment during the...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-35. Restitution of tenant, if case quashed, etc., on appeal
If the proceedings before the magistrate are brought before a district court and quashed, or judgment is given against the plaintiff, the district or...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-36. Damages to tenant for dispossession, if proceedings quashed, etc
If, by order of the magistrate, the plaintiff is put in possession, and the proceedings shall afterwards be quashed or reversed, the defendant may...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-36.1. Lease or rental of manufactured homes
The provisions of this Article shall apply to the lease or rental of manufactured homes, as defined in G.S. 143-145. (1971, c. 764; 1985,...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-36.1A. Judgments for possession more than 30 days old
Prior to obtaining execution of a judgment that has been entered for more than 30 days for possession of demised premises, a landlord shall...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-36.2. Notice to tenant of execution of writ for possession of property; storage of evicted tenant's personal property
(a) When Sheriff May Remove Property. - Before removing a tenant's personal property from demised premises pursuant to a writ for possession of real...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-36.3. Death of residential tenant; landlord may file affidavit to remove personal property from the dwelling unit
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter, when a decedent who is the sole occupant of a dwelling unit dies leaving tangible personal property...

Article 4 - Forms.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-37. Repealed by Session Laws 1971, c. 533, s. 11

Article 4A - Retaliatory Eviction.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-37.1. Defense of retaliatory eviction
(a) It is the public policy of the State of North Carolina to protect tenants and other persons whose residence in the household is...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-37.2. Remedies
(a) If the court finds that an ejectment action is retaliatory, as defined by this Article, it shall deny the request for ejectment; provided,...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-37.3. Waiver
Any waiver by a tenant or a member of his household of the rights and remedies created by this Article is void as contrary...

Article 5 - Residential Rental Agreements.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-38. Application
This Article determines the rights, obligations, and remedies under a rental agreement for a dwelling unit within this State. (1977, c. 770, s. 1.)
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-39. Exclusions
(a) The provisions of this Article shall not apply to transient occupancy in a hotel, motel, or similar lodging subject to regulation by the...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-40. Definitions
For the purpose of this Article, the following definitions shall apply: (1) "Action" includes recoupment, counterclaim, defense, setoff, and any other proceeding including an...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-41. Mutuality of obligations
The tenant's obligation to pay rent under the rental agreement or assignment and to comply with G.S. 42-43 and the landlord's obligation to comply...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-42. Landlord to provide fit premises
(a) The landlord shall: (1) Comply with the current applicable building and housing codes, whether enacted before or after October 1, 1977, to the...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-42.1. Water and electricity conservation
(a) For the purpose of encouraging water and electricity conservation, pursuant to a written rental agreement, a landlord may charge for the cost of...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-42.2. Victim protection - nondiscrimination
A landlord shall not terminate a tenancy, fail to renew a tenancy, refuse to enter into a rental agreement, or otherwise retaliate in the...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-42.3. Victim protection - change locks
(a) If the perpetrator of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking is not a tenant in the same dwelling unit as the protected tenant,...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-43. Tenant to maintain dwelling unit
(a) The tenant shall: (1) Keep that part of the premises that the tenant occupies and uses as clean and safe as the conditions...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-44. General remedies, penalties, and limitations
(a) Any right or obligation declared by this Chapter is enforceable by civil action, in addition to other remedies of law and in equity....
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-45. Early termination of rental agreement by military personnel, surviving family members, or lawful representative
(a) Any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who (i) is required to move pursuant to permanent change of station orders...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-45.1. Early termination of rental agreement by victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking
(a) Any protected tenant may terminate his or her rental agreement for a dwelling unit by providing the landlord with a written notice of...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-45.2. Early termination of rental agreement by military and tenants residing in certain foreclosed property
Any tenant who resides in residential real property containing less than 15 rental units that is being sold in a foreclosure proceeding under Article...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-46. Authorized fees
(a) In all residential rental agreements in which a definite time for the payment of the rent is fixed, the parties may agree to...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-47 through 42-49. Reserved for future codification purposes

Article 6 - Tenant Security Deposit Act.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-50. Deposits from the tenant
Security deposits from the tenant in residential dwelling units shall be deposited in a trust account with a licensed and insured bank or savings...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-51. Permitted uses of the deposit
(a) Security deposits for residential dwelling units shall be permitted only for the following: (1) The tenant's possible nonpayment of rent and costs for...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-52. Landlord's obligations
Upon termination of the tenancy, money held by the landlord as security may be applied as permitted in G.S. 42-51 or, if not so...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-53. Pet deposits
Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the landlord may charge a reasonable, nonrefundable fee for pets kept by the tenant on the premises. (1977,...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-54. Transfer of dwelling units
Upon termination of the landlord's interest in the dwelling unit in question, whether by sale, assignment, death, appointment of receiver or otherwise, the landlord...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-55. Remedies
If the landlord or the landlord's successor in interest fails to account for and refund the balance of the tenant's security deposit as required...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-56. Application of Article
The provisions of this Article shall apply to all persons, firms, or corporations engaged in the business of renting or managing residential dwelling units,...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-57. Reserved for future codification purposes
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-58. Reserved for future codification purposes

Article 7 - Expedited Eviction of Drug Traffickers and Other Criminals.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-59. Definitions
As used in this Article: (1) "Complete eviction" means the eviction and removal of a tenant and all members of the tenant's household. (2)...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-59.1. Statement of Public Policy
The General Assembly recognizes that the residents of this State have the right to the peaceful, safe, and quiet enjoyment of their homes. The...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-60. Nature of actions and jurisdiction
The causes of action established in this Article are civil actions to remove tenants or other persons from leased residential premises. These actions shall...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-61. Standard of proof
The civil causes of action established in this Article shall be proved by a preponderance of the evidence, except as otherwise expressly provided in...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-62. Parties
(a) Who May Bring Action. - A civil action pursuant to this Article may be brought by the landlord of a leased residential premises,...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-63. Remedies and judicial orders
(a) Grounds for Complete Eviction. - Subject to the provisions of G.S. 42-64 and pursuant to G.S 42-68, the court shall order the immediate...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-64. Affirmative defense or exemption to a complete eviction
(a) Affirmative Defense. - The court shall refrain from ordering the complete eviction of a tenant pursuant to G.S. 42-63(a) where the tenant has...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-65. Obstructing the execution or enforcement of a removal or eviction order
Any person who knowingly violates any order issued pursuant to this Article or who knowingly interferes with, obstructs, impairs, or prevents any law enforcement...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-66. Motion to enforce eviction and removal orders
(a) A motion to enforce an eviction or removal order issued pursuant to G.S. 42-63(b) or (c) shall be heard on an expedited basis...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-67. Impermissible defense
It shall not be a defense to an action brought pursuant to this Article that the criminal activity was an isolated incident or otherwise...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-68. Expedited proceedings
Where the complaint is filed as a small claim, the expedited process for summary ejectment, as provided in Article 3 of this Chapter and...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-69. Relation to criminal proceedings
(a) Criminal Proceedings, Conviction, or Adjudication Not Required. - The fact that a criminal prosecution involving the criminal activity is not commenced or, if...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-70. Discovery
(a) The parties to an action brought pursuant to this Article shall be entitled to conduct discovery, if the action is filed originally in...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-71. Protection of threatened witnesses or affiants
If proof necessary to establish the grounds for eviction depends, in whole or in part, upon the affidavits or testimony of witnesses who are...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-72. Availability of law enforcement resources to plaintiffs or potential plaintiffs
A law enforcement agency may make available to any person or entity authorized to bring an action pursuant to this Article any police report...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-73. Collection of rent
A landlord shall be entitled to collect rent due and owing with knowledge of any illegal acts that violate the provisions of this act...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-74. Preliminary or emergency relief
The district court shall have the authority at any time to issue a temporary restraining order, grant a preliminary injunction, or take such other...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-75. Cumulative remedies
The causes of action and remedies authorized by this Article shall be cumulative with each other and shall be in addition to, not in...
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-76. Civil immunity
Any person or organization who, in good faith, institutes, participates in, or encourages a person or entity to institute or participate in a civil...

Last modified: March 23, 2014