North Carolina residential lease agreement

State form

• North Carolina General Statutes Section 22-2 makes a lease of land lasting more than three years void unless it, or a memorandum of it, is in writing and signed by the party to be charged.³
• The North Carolina Department of Justice notes that verbal leases are enforceable in the state, but a written lease is easier to prove.⁴

Deadlines

• North Carolina General Statutes Section 42-14 ends a month-to-month tenancy with a notice to quit of seven days, a week-to-week tenancy with two days and a year-to-year tenancy with one month or more.¹
• When a North Carolina tenancy covers only the space for a manufactured home, the notice to quit must come at least 60 days before the end of the rental period.¹
• A North Carolina landlord must mail or deliver the deposit balance and a written itemization of damage no later than 30 days after the tenancy ends and the tenant gives back possession.¹
• If the damage cannot be priced within 30 days, a North Carolina landlord sends an interim accounting by day 30 and a final accounting within 60 days.¹
• Within 30 days after the lease term begins, a North Carolina landlord must tell the tenant the name and address of the bank holding the deposit or of the insurer providing the bond.¹
• A North Carolina tenant in a building of fewer than 15 units that is sold in foreclosure may end the lease with written notice effective 10 to 90 days after the sale date.¹

Where it is filed

• Under North Carolina General Statutes Section 47-18, a lease of land for more than three years protects the tenant against purchasers and lien creditors only from the time it is registered in the county where the land lies.²
• The North Carolina Department of Justice suggests tenants record their lease at the local Register of Deeds office, and a recorded lease entitles the tenant to notice of a foreclosure hearing.⁴
• A North Carolina landlord must keep tenants’ security deposits in a trust account at a licensed, federally insured institution, or furnish a bond from an insurer licensed in the state.¹

Taxes and fees

• North Carolina caps the security deposit at two weeks’ rent for a week-to-week tenancy, one and one-half months’ rent for month-to-month, and two months’ rent for longer terms.¹
• A North Carolina late fee can apply only once rent is five calendar days or more late, and for monthly rent it may not exceed $15 or 5 percent of the rent, whichever is greater.¹
• North Carolina lets a landlord charge a reasonable, nonrefundable fee for pets kept by the tenant.¹

Law

• A North Carolina landlord may not keep any part of the deposit for normal wear and tear, or more than the actual damages.¹
• Under North Carolina General Statutes Section 42-55, a landlord’s willful failure to follow the deposit, bond or notice rules voids the right to keep any of the deposit.¹
• A North Carolina tenant who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking may end the lease with written notice effective at least 30 days after the landlord receives it.¹

• Property address and what is included (parking, storage, appliances)
• Start date, end date or month-to-month term
• Monthly rent, due date and security deposit amount
• Rules on pets, smoking, repairs and utilities

It is not a roommate agreement between tenants, and it is not a commercial lease for a store or office.