Being Evicted
G.S. 42-26 — a court case called summary ejectment, and rent forfeited 10 days after a demand
In North Carolina, a landlord removes a tenant through the court procedure called summary ejectment. It is available, after a demand that the tenant surrender the premises, when the tenant holds over after the term has ended, when the tenant has done or failed to do something that ends the tenancy under the lease's own terms, or when a tenant behind on rent deserts the premises and leaves them unoccupied.
Unpaid rent forfeits the lease 10 days after a demand. Where a written or spoken lease fixes a time for paying rent, the term is forfeited if the rent is not paid within 10 days after the landlord demands all of the past due rent.
| Tenancy | Notice to quit |
|---|---|
| TenancyYear to year | Notice to quitOne month or more before the end of the current year of the tenancy |
| TenancyMonth to month | Notice to quitSeven days |
| TenancyWeek to week | Notice to quitTwo days |
| TenancyA space for a manufactured home | Notice to quitAt least 60 days before the end of the current rental period, whatever the term |
Water, sewer or electric charges owed to the landlord cannot be the basis for ending a lease, and a payment goes first to rent and then to those charges unless the tenant says otherwise.
Once the landlord is put back in possession by a writ of possession, the landlord may move the tenant's remaining property for storage but may not throw away, dispose of or sell it for seven days, and releases it to the tenant on request during that time. If everything left is worth less than $500, it is treated as abandoned five days after the writ is executed. A sale takes at least seven days' written notice, and any surplus goes to the tenant on request.
Sources for this section (4)
- G.S. 42-26 — Tenant holding over may be dispossessed in certain cases
- G.S. 42-3 — Term forfeited for nonpayment of rent
- G.S. 42-14 — Notice to quit in certain tenancies
- G.S. 42-25.9 — Remedies for unlawful ejectment
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed North Carolina attorney.