Retaliatory Eviction
G.S. 42-37.1 — a defense to an eviction filed within 12 months of a protected complaint
- A good faith complaint or repair request to the landlord about conditions the landlord must repair.
- A good faith complaint to a government agency about a health or safety law or housing code violation.
- A government authority's formal complaint to the landlord about the tenant's home.
- A good faith attempt to exercise or enforce rights under the lease or state or federal law.
- A good faith attempt to organize, join or take part in a tenants' rights organization.
Twelve months. In a summary ejectment case, the tenant may raise retaliatory eviction as a defense and show that the landlord's action is substantially in response to one or more of those protected acts within 12 months before the case was filed.
The landlord may still win if the tenant breached the duty to pay rent or another substantial term and that breach is the reason; if a fixed term with no renewal option has ended; if the condition complained of was caused mainly by the willful or negligent conduct of the tenant, the household or their guests; if the code requires demolition or major work that displaces the household; if a good faith notice to quit came before the protected act; or if the landlord in good faith wants the unit back at the end of the term to live in, to demolish or remodel, or to stop renting it for at least six months.
Sources for this section (1)
- G.S. 42-37.1 — Defense of retaliatory eviction
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.