What Is a North Carolina Eviction Notice?
A North Carolina eviction notice notifies a tenant of a lease violation. It may summarize the details of nonpayment, noncompliance with the lease, or illegal activity. Depending on the situation, you may ask the tenant to correct the breach or move out.
By using this notice, you can follow the legal eviction process in North Carolina. You must issue a North Carolina eviction notice first before you can file an eviction lawsuit, known as a “summary ejectment.” Adhering to this process ensures you don’t engage in illegal acts, such as changing the tenant’s locks or removing their property yourself.
Types of North Carolina Eviction Notices
The type of North Carolina eviction notice you send will depend on the tenant’s situation. You will issue a different amount of notice for nonpayment compared to a lease breach. Holdover tenancies will also warrant different notice lengths, depending on the term of the original lease. Explore the different types of North Carolina eviction notice forms below.
10-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit in North Carolina
You may use a 10-day eviction notice in North Carolina when tenants fail to pay rent on time. It informs tenants that they must either pay overdue rent or vacate the property within 10 days (NC Gen Stat § 42-3). Tenants should receive a five-day grace period to settle their rent before any late fees apply (NC Gen Stat § 42-46(a)).
If a tenant in North Carolina receives a 10-day notice to pay rent or quit and pays the full amount due, their tenancy is preserved. A 10-day notice to vacate in NC must be in writing; verbal notices are not valid. If the tenant doesn’t comply with the notice within 10 days, you can initiate eviction proceedings.
10-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit
Evict a tenant if they haven’t paid rent on time.
Immediate Notice to Quit for Noncompliance in North Carolina
An immediate notice to quit for noncompliance in North Carolina informs tenants of a lease breach. It explains the violation and informs the tenant that they must move out immediately (NC Gen Stat § 42-26(a)(2) and NC Gen Stat § 42-27). If the tenant fails to comply, you may initiate eviction proceedings.
State law does not require you to allow the tenant time to correct a lease violation other than non-payment of rent. However, you must refer to the lease for the governing terms. Some leases allow tenants a short period, often between five and 10 days, to remedy a minor breach or move out.
Notice to Quit for Non-Compliance
Begin evicting a tenant if they’ve broken the terms of your lease.
Lease Termination Notices in North Carolina
Even if a tenant doesn’t commit a breach, you can issue a lease termination notice, asking them to vacate the premises. The amount of notice you must give depends on the lease type:
- 2-day eviction notice (for week-to-week leases)
- 7-day eviction notice (for month-to-month leases)
- 30-day eviction notice (for year-to-year leases)
These notices require tenants to vacate by the given deadline under NC Gen. Stat. § 42-14 or face an eviction lawsuit. They provide a structured, legally recognized method for ending a lease amicably and complying with North Carolina’s rental laws.
7-Day Lease Termination Notice
End a month-to-month lease with a 7-day lease termination notice. Adjust the timelines as needed for ending a week-to-week or a year-to-year lease.
How to Evict a Tenant in North Carolina
In North Carolina, eviction lawsuits are governed by Chapter 42, Article 3 of the North Carolina General Statutes. You must serve an eviction notice before filing a lawsuit against your tenant(s) to get your property back.
Step 1 – Write & Deliver an Eviction Notice
Write your North Carolina eviction notice form. Include your and your tenant’s details, and tailor the agreement to the reason for eviction. Whether the eviction notice is for nonpayment, lease noncompliance, or a holdover tenancy, Legal Templates has a form you can use to comply with state laws.
Once you draft your notice, ensure it is delivered properly to the tenant. North Carolina law doesn’t govern the delivery of an initial eviction notice to the tenant, but you should follow generally accepted methods. For example, you may hand-deliver the notice to the tenant. You can also leave it with a person of suitable age at the property or send it via certified mail to obtain proof of delivery.
Step 2 – File a Formal Lawsuit
If the tenant ignores your North Carolina eviction notice, you officially initiate eviction proceedings. This process involves filing a lawsuit, called a summary ejectment, with the Clerk of Superior Court’s office in the county where the property is located.
You’ll need to file the official complaint form, the Complaint in Summary Ejectment (Form AOC-CVM-201). In response, the clerk issues a Magistrate Summons (Form AOC-CVM-100). A sheriff then serves the summons to the tenant within five days.
A court hearing is scheduled within seven to 10 days of you filing the complaint. Both parties present evidence to a magistrate. If you win, they will enter a judgment for possession. At this point, the tenant will have 10 days to appeal the judgment (NC Gen Stat § 7A-228).
Step 3 – Obtain a Writ of Possession
Allow the 10-day appeal window to pass. If the tenant has not vacated the property after these 10 days, you must go back to the clerk and request a writ of possession for real property.
Even if you win in court, you cannot lock a tenant out or remove their belongings. Only a law enforcement officer can physically remove a tenant.
The clerk will send the writ to a local sheriff. The sheriff will typically visit the property within seven days to oversee the removal of the tenant and their belongings, at which point the landlord can finally change the locks (NC Gen Stat § 42-36.2).
Sample North Carolina Eviction Notice
View an example of our 10-day notice to vacate in North Carolina. It shows how you can communicate the overdue rent and emphasize that the tenant must pay in full or move out. Legal Templates’s North Carolina eviction notice template helps you write your own eviction notice, regardless of the reason. Once you fill it out, you can download it in PDF or Word format and distribute it to the tenant as the first step in the legal eviction process in NC.
