Sources checked:
Quick answer. North Carolina: deposit capped at 2 months of rent; deposit returned within 30 days; 7-day notice to end month-to-month; 10-day notice for unpaid rent; $96 eviction filing fee; $10,000 small claims limit. 22 of 23 items are confirmed on official pages; 1 is marked not confirmed, with the page to check.
Key numbers
- Deposit limit
- 2 months' rent
- Deposit back within
- 30 days
- Month-to-month notice (landlord)
- 7 days
- Unpaid rent notice
- 10 days
- Filing fee
- $96
- Time to answer or appear
- At the hearing
- Judgment to writ
- 10 days
- Writ to lockout
- Up to 5 days
- Small claims limit
- $10,000
Security deposit (6 of 6 confirmed)
Law read: N.C.G.S. 42-50 to 42-56 (Tenant Security Deposit Act).
Need the other side served? Process serving with an affidavit of service.
-
ConfirmedDeposit limit
Two weeks' rent for week-to-week; one and one-half months for month-to-month; two months for longer terms (42-51).
Source: North Carolina General Assembly: Chapter 42, Article 6, checked November 2026
-
ConfirmedReturn deadline
No later than 30 days after the tenancy ends and possession is delivered: an itemized accounting and the balance. If damage can't be determined, an interim accounting within 30 days and a final one within 60 days (42-52).
Final accounting when damage couldn't be determined: 60 days
Source: North Carolina General Assembly: Chapter 42, Article 6, checked November 2026
-
ConfirmedItemized list of deductions
An itemized list of damages (42-52).
Source: North Carolina General Assembly: Chapter 42, Article 6, checked November 2026
-
ConfirmedInterest on the deposit
None stated in N.C.G.S. Chapter 42, Article 6.
Source: North Carolina General Assembly: Chapter 42, Article 6, checked November 2026
-
ConfirmedWhere the deposit is held
In a trust account with a licensed, federally insured depository institution, or the landlord furnishes a bond; the tenant is told where within 30 days after the lease begins (42-50).
Source: North Carolina General Assembly: Chapter 42, Article 6, checked November 2026
-
ConfirmedPenalty the law states
Willful failure to follow the deposit, bond or notice rules voids the right to keep any part; the court may award attorney fees (42-55).
Source: North Carolina General Assembly: Chapter 42, Article 6, checked November 2026
More: Security deposit rules by state · Deposit return deadline calculator
Notice periods (6 of 6 confirmed)
What the official text says about each notice. Cities and counties can add their own notice, just-cause or rent rules. Check local rules too.
| Notice | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Ending month-to-month (landlord) | Notice to quit at least 7 days before the end of the current monthly period (2 days for week-to-week; 60 days for a manufactured home space). Either side may give it. | Source: North Carolina General Assembly: G.S. Chapter 42, Article 1, checked November 2026 (G.S. 42-14) |
| Ending month-to-month (tenant) | Notice to quit at least 7 days before the end of the current monthly period (2 days for week-to-week; 60 days for a manufactured home space). Either side may give it. | Source: North Carolina General Assembly: G.S. Chapter 42, Article 1, checked November 2026 (G.S. 42-14) |
| Rent increase notice | No rent increase notice rule in G.S. Chapter 42 as read. Check the lease. | Source: North Carolina General Assembly: G.S. Chapter 42 (Landlord and Tenant), full chapter, checked November 2026 |
| Unpaid rent notice | The lease is forfeited if rent isn't paid within 10 days after a demand for all past-due rent. | Source: North Carolina General Assembly: G.S. Chapter 42, Article 1, checked November 2026 (G.S. 42-3) |
| Entry notice | No entry notice rule in G.S. Chapter 42 as read. Check the lease. | Source: North Carolina General Assembly: G.S. Chapter 42 (Landlord and Tenant), full chapter, checked November 2026 |
| Late fee limits | Only if rent is 5 calendar days or more late. Monthly rent: up to $15 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is greater (weekly rent: $4 or 5%). | Source: North Carolina General Assembly: G.S. 42-46 (late fees), checked November 2026 (G.S. 42-46(a)) |
More: Notice periods by state · Notice date calculator
Eviction case, in order (9 of 10 confirmed)
- Notice before filing The written notice comes first; its length is in the notice table above.
Unpaid rent: The lease is forfeited if rent isn't paid within 10 days after a demand for all past-due rent.
- Filing the case Where the case goes and what it costs to start.
-
ConfirmedCourt
Eviction (summary ejectment) cases are usually heard in small claims court by a magistrate.
Eviction cases are typically handled in small claims court, where they are decided by a magistrate.
Source: North Carolina Judicial Branch: Landlord/Tenant Issues, checked November 2026
-
ConfirmedFiling fee
$96 to file a summary ejectment complaint, per the Durham County packet on the Judicial Branch site, plus a $30 sheriff's service fee for each defendant.
$96.00 filing fee
Source: North Carolina Judicial Branch (nccourts.gov): Durham County Pro Se Summary Ejectment Packet Instructions, checked November 2026
-
- The tenant's answer or appearance
-
ConfirmedTime to answer or appear
The tenant appears on the court date in the summons.
not to exceed seven days from the issuance of the summons
Source: North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 42, Article 3 (Summary Ejectment), checked November 2026
-
- Hearing or trial
-
ConfirmedHearing after filing
The tenant is summoned to appear no more than seven days (not counting weekends and legal holidays) after the summons issues.
not to exceed seven days from the issuance of the summons
Source: North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 42, Article 3 (Summary Ejectment), checked November 2026
-
- Judgment and the writ The order that lets the officer act.
-
ConfirmedJudgment to writ
Either side has 10 days to appeal to District Court; after that the landlord can ask the clerk for the writ of possession.
Both parties have 10 days after the magistrate's decision to appeal the case to District Court.
Source: North Carolina Judicial Branch: Landlord/Tenant Issues, checked November 2026
-
- Lockout Carried out by an officer, not by either side.
-
ConfirmedWrit to lockout
The sheriff executes the writ within five days of receiving it and tells the tenant the approximate time.
no more than five days from the sheriff's receipt thereof.
Source: North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 42, Article 3 (Summary Ejectment), checked November 2026
-
ConfirmedWho carries out the lockout
The sheriff's office removes the tenant.
The sheriff's office must then remove the tenant within 5 days.
Source: North Carolina Judicial Branch: Landlord/Tenant Issues, checked November 2026
-
- Along the way Paying to stop the case, counsel and diversion programs.
-
ConfirmedPaying to stop the case
In a nonpayment case, paying or offering the rent due and the court costs before judgment ends the case.
pays or tenders the rent due and the costs of the action, all further proceedings in such action shall cease.
Source: North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 42, Article 3 (Summary Ejectment), checked November 2026
-
ConfirmedRight to counsel (statewide)
No statewide right to counsel for tenants in eviction cases (as of November 2026, per the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel): its tracker of enacted laws lists no statewide law here.
An eviction right to counsel is created by an enacted law that, at a minimum:
Source: National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel (secondary source): National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel: Enacted Eviction Right to Counsel and Eviction Defense Programs (last modified November 2026), checked November 2026
-
Not confirmedDiversion or mediation (statewide)
Not confirmed — check North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 42, Article 3 (Summary Ejectment). Not confirmed on an official page we opened.
-
To stay during an appeal, the tenant pays the undisputed back rent found by the magistrate (unless indigent) and signs a bond to stay execution.
Example: a case filed Monday, March 1, 2027
The earliest date of each stage the confirmed rules allow, from our eviction timeline estimator. Earliest under the statute; courts' calendars often take longer.
| Stage | Earliest date |
|---|---|
| Case filed | Monday, March 1, 2027 |
| Answer or appear | Monday, March 1, 2027 |
| Hearing or trial | Monday, March 1, 2027 |
| Judgment | Monday, March 1, 2027 |
| Writ or warrant of possession | Thursday, March 11, 2027 |
| Earliest lockout | Thursday, March 11, 2027 |
Help the official pages name: A statewide nonprofit legal aid organization that represents some tenants.
More: North Carolina eviction process · Eviction timeline estimator
Deposit disputes: small claims
-
ConfirmedSmall claims limit (for a deposit dispute)
$10,000: the most a small claims case can ask for.
G.S. 7A-210: small claim action where amount in controversy does not exceed $10,000 and principal relief is money, recovery of specific personal property, summary ejectment, or a combination. Assigned to a magistrate by the chief district judge.
Filing fee to start a case: $4 to $80.
Source: N.C. Gen. Stat. Chapter 7A Article 19 (Small Claim Actions), checked November 2026
More: North Carolina small claims court
Still to confirm
- Diversion or mediation (statewide): check North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 42, Article 3 (Summary Ejectment)
General information, not legal advice. We are not lawyers, and MCC Solutions is not a law firm. The same rules apply whichever side of the lease you are on; this page describes them and doesn't take a side. Rules change, cities and counties can add their own, a lease can add terms, and the official source has the final word.
Common questions
How much can a security deposit be in North Carolina?
Two weeks' rent for week-to-week; one and one-half months for month-to-month; two months for longer terms (42-51).
How long does a North Carolina landlord have to return a deposit?
No later than 30 days after the tenancy ends and possession is delivered: an itemized accounting and the balance. If damage can't be determined, an interim accounting within 30 days and a final one within 60 days (42-52). What goes with it: An itemized list of damages (42-52).
How much notice ends a month-to-month tenancy in North Carolina?
From the landlord: Notice to quit at least 7 days before the end of the current monthly period (2 days for week-to-week; 60 days for a manufactured home space). Either side may give it. From the tenant: Notice to quit at least 7 days before the end of the current monthly period (2 days for week-to-week; 60 days for a manufactured home space). Either side may give it.
What notice comes before an unpaid-rent case in North Carolina?
The lease is forfeited if rent isn't paid within 10 days after a demand for all past-due rent.
How much notice before a landlord enters a rental in North Carolina?
No entry notice rule in G.S. Chapter 42 as read. Check the lease.
How long does an eviction case take in North Carolina?
Time to answer or appear: At the hearing. Hearing after filing: Up to 7 court days. Judgment to writ: 10 days. Writ to lockout: Up to 5 days. These are the stated rules; the court's calendar often takes longer.
What does it cost to file an eviction case in North Carolina?
$96 to file a summary ejectment complaint, per the Durham County packet on the Judicial Branch site, plus a $30 sheriff's service fee for each defendant.
Related: Landlord rules by state · Kits for landlords