North Carolina Residential Lease Agreement
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North Carolina security deposit rules
- Security deposit limit
- Depends on the tenancy
- Deposit return deadline
- 30 days
General-purpose template. Built for North Carolina from our state data, with North Carolina clauses; they have not yet been reviewed by us.
State summary
Security deposit limit: Depends on the tenancy. Return deadline: 30 days. Month-to-month notice: 7 calendar days (N.C.G.S. § 42-14); conditions apply, see below.
Nearby state leases
North Carolina landlord-tenant rules, with sources
Each rule comes from a record LeaseCraft read at the official source and is followed by its citation; it is general information, not legal advice.
Security deposits in North Carolina
- Deposit limit, return and deductions
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- The limit depends on the tenancy: 2 weeks' rent for week-to-week, 1.5 months for month-to-month and 2 months for longer terms. Within 30 days after the tenancy ends and possession is delivered, the landlord must refund the deposit with a written itemization of any damages; when the claim cannot yet be determined, an interim accounting is due at 30 days and a final one within 60 (N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 42-50 to 42-52).
Reviewed · N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 42-50 to 42-52
- Interest on the deposit: No statewide requirement
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Reviewed · N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 42-50 to 42-52
Ending a tenancy in North Carolina
- Notice to end a month-to-month tenancy: 7 calendar days
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- Month-to-month tenancy is terminated by 'a like notice of seven days' given before the end of the current rental month (G.S. 42-14).
- Statute does not require the notice to be written or specify service; lease terms may require more.
Quoted from the source: “a like notice of seven days”
Exceptions:
- Rental of a space for a manufactured home: notice to quit at least 60 days before the end of the current rental period (G.S. 42-14).
Reviewed · N.C.G.S. § 42-14
- Notice to end a week-to-week tenancy: 2 calendar days
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- Week-to-week tenancy: notice 'of two days' before the end of the current week (G.S. 42-14).
Quoted from the source: “of two days”
Reviewed · N.C.G.S. § 42-14
- A tenant who stays after the tenancy ends
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- A tenant who 'holds over after his term has expired' may be dispossessed by summary ejectment (G.S. 42-26(a)(1)); no separate holdover notice is required by statute for a fixed term, while periodic tenancies require the G.S. 42-14 notice to quit.
Quoted from the source: “When a tenant in possession of real estate holds over after his term has expired.”
Reviewed · N.C.G.S. § 42-26(a)(1); N.C.G.S. § 42-14
- Just-cause requirement: No statewide requirement found
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Quoted from the source: “When a tenant in possession of real estate holds over after his term has expired.”
Reviewed · N.C.G.S. §§ 42-14, 42-26(a)(1)
Rent, late fees and unpaid rent in North Carolina
- Notice before filing for unpaid rent: 10 calendar days
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- Implied forfeiture for failure to pay rent within 10 days after a demand is made by the lessor or agent, in any lease fixing a definite time for payment of rent (G.S. 42-3).
- The statute does not require the demand to be in writing or prescribe a delivery method; the clock runs from the demand.
- If the lease itself contains an express forfeiture/automatic-termination clause for nonpayment, landlords rely on G.S. 42-26(a)(2) (breach of a lease condition) and the lease's own notice terms.
Quoted from the source: “failure to pay the rent within 10 days after a demand is made by the lessor or his agent”
Reviewed · N.C.G.S. § 42-3; N.C.G.S. § 42-26(a)(2)
- Late fee limit
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- For monthly rent, a late fee may not be more than $15 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is greater (for weekly rent, $4 or 5% of the weekly rent). The landlord and tenant must have agreed to the fee.
Reviewed · N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-46(a)
- When a late fee may be charged
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- Only once the rent payment is 5 days or more late.
Reviewed · N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-46(a)
- One late fee per late payment
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- A late fee may be charged only once for each late payment, and it may not be deducted from a later rent payment so as to make that payment late.
Reviewed · N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-46(b)
- Returned (bounced) check
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- The holder of a dishonored check may charge a processing fee of up to $35.
Reviewed · N.C. Gen. Stat. § 25-3-506
- Court process only
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- A residential tenant may be removed only through the procedures in Article 3 or Article 7 of Chapter 42, which means a court case, not a lock change or a utility shut-off.
Reviewed · N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-25.6
Lease violations in North Carolina
- Notice to fix a lease violation
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- No statutory comply-or-quit notice: summary ejectment for a lease violation lies when the tenant 'has done or omitted any act by which, according to the stipulations of the lease, his estate has ceased' (G.S. 42-26(a)(2)); the lease must contain a forfeiture/re-entry clause and any notice or cure period is whatever the lease provides.
Quoted from the source: “has done or omitted any act by which, according to the stipulations of the lease, his estate has ceased”
Reviewed · N.C.G.S. § 42-26(a)(2)
- Notice that gives no chance to fix
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- No statutory unconditional-quit notice period. Criminal activity is handled under Article 7 (G.S. 42-59 to 42-76, Expedited Eviction of Drug Traffickers and Other Criminals): G.S. 42-63 lets the court 'order the immediate eviction of a tenant and all other residents' on an expedited complaint and contains no pre-suit notice requirement.
- Other lease breaches (nuisance, damage) proceed under G.S. 42-26(a)(2) on whatever notice the lease requires.
Quoted from the source: “the court shall order the immediate eviction of a tenant and all other residents”
Reviewed · N.C.G.S. § 42-26(a)(2); N.C.G.S. § 42-63 (Article 7)
Serving a notice in North Carolina
- How a notice may be delivered
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- Statute is silent: G.S. 42-3 requires only that 'a demand is made by the lessor or his agent' and G.S. 42-14 that a 'notice to quit' be 'given'; neither prescribes writing or a delivery method, so the lease's notice clause and proof of actual delivery govern.
Quoted from the source: “notice to quit given one month or more before the end of the current year”
Reviewed · N.C.G.S. §§ 42-3, 42-14
- Required form or wording
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- No statutory pre-suit notice form; the court filing uses AOC form Complaint in Summary Ejectment (AOC-CVM-201)
Reviewed · N.C.G.S. § 42-28; AOC-CVM-201
Lease wording North Carolina statutes call for
- Where the security deposit is held
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Reviewed · N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-50
What's included
- Property, rent, and term details
- Maintenance and utility responsibilities
- Signature blocks for all parties
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Frequently asked questions
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In North Carolina the security deposit limit depends on the tenancy. The return deadline is 30 days. The limit depends on the tenancy: 2 weeks' rent for week-to-week, 1.5 months for month-to-month and 2 months for longer terms. Within 30 days after the tenancy ends and possession is delivered, the landlord must refund the deposit with a written itemization of any damages; when the claim cannot yet be determined, an interim accounting is due at 30 days and a final one within 60 (N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 42-50 to 42-52).
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7 calendar days. Month-to-month tenancy is terminated by 'a like notice of seven days' given before the end of the current rental month (G.S. 42-14). Statute does not require the notice to be written or specify service; lease terms may require more. Source: N.C.G.S. § 42-14.
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10 calendar days. Implied forfeiture for failure to pay rent within 10 days after a demand is made by the lessor or agent, in any lease fixing a definite time for payment of rent (G.S. 42-3). The statute does not require the demand to be in writing or prescribe a delivery method; the clock runs from the demand. Source: N.C.G.S. § 42-3; N.C.G.S. § 42-26(a)(2).
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For monthly rent, a late fee may not be more than $15 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is greater (for weekly rent, $4 or 5% of the weekly rent). The landlord and tenant must have agreed to the fee. Source: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-46(a).
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No statewide requirement found. Source: N.C.G.S. §§ 42-14, 42-26(a)(1).
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No statutory comply-or-quit notice: summary ejectment for a lease violation lies when the tenant 'has done or omitted any act by which, according to the stipulations of the lease, his estate has ceased' (G.S. 42-26(a)(2)); the lease must contain a forfeiture/re-entry clause and any notice or cure period is whatever the lease provides. Source: N.C.G.S. § 42-26(a)(2).
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Statute is silent: G.S. 42-3 requires only that 'a demand is made by the lessor or his agent' and G.S. 42-14 that a 'notice to quit' be 'given'; neither prescribes writing or a delivery method, so the lease's notice clause and proof of actual delivery govern. Source: N.C.G.S. §§ 42-3, 42-14.
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