Locked Out By The Landlord
G.S. 42-25.6 — a residential tenant is removed only through the court
Only through the court. North Carolina's stated public policy, to keep the peace, is that a residential tenant is evicted, dispossessed or otherwise removed from the dwelling, actually or constructively, only through the court procedures in the landlord and tenant chapter.
A tenant removed, or whose removal is attempted, any other way is entitled to recover possession or to end the lease, and the landlord or agent is liable for the damages the removal caused. Those are actual damages, as in a trespass or conversion case; they do not include punitive damages, treble damages or damages for emotional distress.
A landlord who seizes a tenant's or household member's belongings, or blocks access to them, outside the procedures the law allows is liable the same way: the owner can recover the property or its value, plus actual damages.
These remedies are in addition to every other right and remedy the tenant has at common law or by statute.
Sources for this section (2)
- G.S. 42-25.6 — Manner of ejectment of residential tenants
- 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.