North Carolina Eviction Notice and Summary Ejectment

Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-3, every residential lease carries an implied condition of "forfeiture of the term upon failure to pay the rent within 10 days after a demand is made by the lessor or his agent on said lessee for all past-due rent." After the 10-day demand passes unpaid, the landlord files a summary-ejectment complaint heard by a magistrate. If the landlord wins, the tenant has 10 days to appeal to district court; to stay execution during appeal, § 42-34 requires the tenant to pay rent in arrears and ongoing rent into the clerk of superior court. Self-help evictions are unlawful, only a sheriff acting on a writ of possession may remove a tenant.

Self-help eviction, lockouts, or utility shutoffs violate North Carolina law and expose the landlord to civil liability under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-25.6 and related ejectment statutes.