How to Evict a Roommate in North Carolina (and Other Household Situations)
What North Carolina law says about roommates who are not on the lease, guests who won't leave, family members, renting a room in your own home, and tenancies at will — each with the statute or official source.
Short answer: No roommate-specific statute. North Carolina's summary ejectment statute lets a landlord remove a tenant or lessee, and anyone claiming under them (assigns and legal representatives), who holds over without permission after demand, after the lease ends or after doing something that ends their right under the lease. Periodic tenancies are first ended with notice: 7 days for month-to-month, 2 days for week-to-week, one month for year-to-year. N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 42-26(a), 42-14
| Removing a roommate or subtenant | No roommate-specific statute. North Carolina's summary ejectment statute lets a landlord remove a tenant or lessee, and anyone claiming under them (assigns and legal representatives), who holds over without permission after demand, after the lease ends or after doing something that ends their right under the lease. Periodic tenancies are first ended with notice: 7 days for month-to-month, 2 days for week-to-week, one month for year-to-year. Notice periods: https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_42/GS_42-14.html. Whether a tenant can bring summary ejectment against a roommate depends on whether a landlord-tenant relationship exists between them. |
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| Tenancy at will | North Carolina's notice statute does not address tenancies at will. It sets the notice to end periodic tenancies: one month or more before the end of the current year for year-to-year, 7 days for month-to-month, and 2 days for week-to-week (at least 60 days for a manufactured home space). Source: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-14 |
| Hotel and extended-stay guests | North Carolina defines 'transient occupancy' in an inn, hotel, motel, RV park, campground, or similar lodging as renting to the same guest for fewer than 90 consecutive days. If the guest signs or initials a written statement of the occupancy period, it is a valid contract; when the period ends, the innkeeper may bar the guest from re-entering and remove the guest's property, without liability except for damage or loss caused by the removal. The former exclusion of hotel stays from the residential rental agreements article was repealed effective March 19, 2023. Repeal note: https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_42/GS_42-39.html. The statute does not spell out what rights a guest gains after 90 consecutive days. |
Never remove someone by changing the locks or taking their belongings: if the person has become a tenant, only a court can order them out. If there is violence or a threat, call 911 and ask about a protective order.
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North Carolina eviction laws · Free legal help in North Carolina · Roommate rules in other states
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.