What a Landlord Cannot Do in North Carolina
The main limits North Carolina law puts on landlords — lockouts and utility shutoffs, entering without notice, retaliation, deposits, fees and discrimination — each with the statute or official source.
In short: a North Carolina landlord cannot evict without a court order, cannot punish a tenant for asserting legal rights where state law protects them, and must follow the state's rules on entry, deposits and fees shown below.
| Lockouts & utility shutoffs | Residential tenants may be removed only through the court summary ejectment process; actual or constructive removal (e.g., lockouts, utility cutoffs) is prohibited. Tenant may recover possession or terminate the lease, plus actual damages (no punitive or treble damages). NC Judicial Branch: landlords cannot force tenants out 'by changing the locks, turning off utilities or removing the doors.' Distress/distraint of tenant property also prohibited (§ 42-25.7). |
|---|---|
| Landlord entry notice | No statute — North Carolina's landlord-tenant chapter (G.S. Chapter 42) sets no notice period or rules for landlord entry; entry is governed by the lease. Check the lease for any entry-notice term. |
| Landlord retaliation | Protected acts: good-faith repair requests/complaints to the landlord, complaints to a government agency about health/safety/housing code violations, a government agency's formal complaint, good-faith efforts to enforce lease or legal rights, and tenant-organizing. Tenant may raise retaliation as a defense if the eviction is substantially in response to a protected act within 12 months before filing; if proven, the court denies ejectment. Landlord can still prevail for nonpayment or other substantial breach, holdover after a fixed term with no renewal option, tenant-caused conditions, required demolition/major renovation, a notice to quit given before the protected act, or good-faith owner occupancy/demolition. |
| Security deposit limit | 2 weeks' rent (week-to-week tenancy); 1.5 months' rent (month-to-month); 2 months' rent (terms longer than month-to-month) Deposit must be held in a trust account at a licensed, federally insured institution (or bonded), and the tenant must be told where within 30 days of the lease start (§ 42-50). Source: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-51(b) |
| Penalty for withholding | Willful failure to comply with the deposit, bond, or notice requirements voids the landlord's right to keep any part of the deposit. Tenant may sue for an accounting and the balance plus damages; court may award attorney's fees for willful noncompliance. No statutory multiple-damages penalty. Source: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-55 |
| Late fees | May be charged only if rent is 5 or more calendar days late. Monthly rent: max of $15 or 5% of monthly rent, whichever is greater. Weekly rent: max of $4 or 5% of weekly rent, whichever is greater. Only one late fee per late payment. § 42-46 also caps administrative eviction fees (complaint-filing $15 or 5%; court-appearance 10% of monthly rent) and lease-based attorney's fees at 15% of the amount owed. Section amended in 2024 and 2025 (S.L. 2024-47, 2025-45, 2025-52, 2025-54). Source: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-46(a)-(b) |
| Rent control / increase limits | Statewide preemption: counties and cities may not regulate the amount of rent for privately owned residential or commercial rental property. Amended by S.L. 2024-47 to also bar local ordinances prohibiting landlords from refusing tenants whose rent includes federal housing assistance (source-of-income). Exceptions: government-owned property, subsidized-housing agreements, CDBG-assisted properties, and properties receiving local funding/incentives. Source: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-14.1 |
| Statewide ban on refusing Section 8 / source of income | No statewide protection. Since 2024 state law also bars counties and cities from adopting or enforcing ordinances that stop landlords from refusing tenants whose rent includes federal housing assistance (for example Section 8 vouchers). Exceptions: local regulation of locally owned property, agreements for subsidized units, CDBG-assisted properties, and owners receiving local funding or incentives (§ 42-14.1(c)). |
| Cameras & privacy | No landlord-specific camera statute. Secretly peeping into a room occupied by another person (including a bedroom, bathroom, or shower) is a Class 1 misdemeanor; doing so while possessing an image-capturing device with intent to make an image is a Class A1 misdemeanor; and secretly using a device to photograph a person in such a room for sexual gratification is a Class I felony. § 14-202 was amended by S.L. 2025-70 effective December 1, 2025. North Carolina's landlord-tenant chapter has no general landlord-entry section; entry is governed by the lease. Source: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-202 |
| Other rental fees | Fees tied to late payment and eviction are tightly limited. Late fee: only once rent is 5+ days late, max the greater of $15 or 5% of monthly rent (weekly: $4 or 5%), once per late payment. Only one administrative eviction fee may be charged per case, and only under a written lease: complaint-filing fee (greater of $15 or 5% of rent, only if the tenant cures and the case is dismissed), court-appearance fee (10% of rent), or second-trial fee (12% of rent). Any other administrative eviction fee is void. Recoverable out-of-pocket costs are limited to court filing fees, service costs, and attorney fees (capped at 15% in most cases). Renter's insurance: the tenant cannot be required to use a designated carrier. Force-placed coverage: actual cost plus at most $50 per year, only if the tenant fails to show proof within 3 business days. For subsidized rent, fees are figured on the tenant's share only. Amended by S.L. 2025-45, 2025-52, and 2025-54; the official text of subdivision (i)(4) appears garbled on ncleg.gov. No general rule on convenience or online-payment fees or total-cost disclosure. Source: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-46 |
Can I sue my landlord in North Carolina? · All North Carolina tenant rights
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.