What happens if you were evicted in North Carolina? At this point you have been served with either a summons or a complaint. This means that you as the tenant are being noticed for not paying the rent, you have violated the lease agreement with your landlord. This is where you have a couple options as the tenant. Most of the times a tenant will move out after receiving notices like this. Sometimes a tenant will fight the eviction in court.
If you are wanting to fight an eviction with your current landlord in court. Then you may need to speak with a lawyer in Huntersville, NC. Adkins Law serves the Lake Norman area. NC GS § 42-33 Upon receiving a notice to quit for nonpayment of rent and at any time before a final judgment is rendered, a tenant may pay the rent due in full in addition to any accrued late fees. However, the landlord may not be obligated to accept the payment. North Carolina law allows waiver of the ten-day notice provision if the waiver is conspicuously stated in the lease agreement (this is called a “forfeiture clause”). If an appropriate waiver exists, the landlord may proceed with the eviction even after tender of payment. Adkins Law would be happy to help in this matter. Huntersville lawyers here to represent you. If you need assistance in your eviction case or would like to schedule a free consultation with an eviction attorney in Mecklenburg County, please contact Adkins Law. Adkins Law is If you need assistance in evicting a tenant or would like to schedule a consultation with an eviction attorney in Mecklenburg County, please contact Adkins Law. Adkins Law is located in Huntersville and primarily serves Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson, Charlotte, and Mecklenburg County. Call (704) 274-5677 to arrange a consultation.
3 Comments
What is a Security Deposit?
By definition, a security deposit is a sum of money given to the landlord to ensure that rent will be paid and other responsibilities of the lease performed. Such responsibilities include: paying for damages to the premises caused by the tenant, covering any unpaid bills, and the cost of re-renting the premises after breach by the tenant. The laws surrounding security deposits vary from state to state. Landlords must follow state law when handling tenant’s security deposit, which means using it only for certain expenses and returning it tenants in a timely manner. North Carolina Law North Carolina requires that security deposits from the tenant in residential dwelling units be deposited in a trust account with a licensed and federally insured depository institution lawfully doing business in this state. Security deposits from the tenant may be held in a trust outside of North Carolina only if the landlord provides the tenant with adequate bond in the amount of said deposits. Landlords or their agents are required to notify tenants within thirty days after the beginning of the lease term of the name and address of the bank or institution where their deposit is currently located or the name of the insurance company providing the bond. When Can a Landlord Withhold Security Deposits? As a tenant and as a landlord, it is important to be privy to landlord’s obligations to security deposit guidelines. Below is a list of scenarios detailing when a landlord is prohibited from keeping security deposits and when he must return them.
Remedies for Getting Deposits Back A tenant is allowed to institute a civil action to require the accounting of and the recovery of balance of a deposit if the landlord (or landlord’s successor) in interest fails to account for and refund the balance of the tenant’s security deposit pursuant to this Article. The failure of a landlord to comply with the deposit, bond, or notice requirements of this Article shall nullify the landlord’s right to retain any part of the tenant’s security deposit as otherwise permitted under G.S. 42-51. Additionally, the tenant may recover damages resulting from noncompliance by the landlord. Such damages include cost for an attorney and court fees. Evicting a tenant can be difficult and confusing if you haven’t been through the process before. Even if you have previously evicted someone, there are plenty of headaches that come along with the eviction process. From start to finish the process typically takes about 30 days. An eviction may, however, take up to several months. In order to institute a proceeding for summary ejectment, a tenant must have either: 1. Failed to surrender possession of the leased premises after the lease has expired, or 2. Failed to comply with the requirements of the lease and the lease allows for termination in such an event (ex. failure to pay rent or using drugs on premises). Once a landlord determines that the tenant has done one of these things, the landlord must give written notice to the tenant that his or her right of possession has been terminated. Written notice is typically done by way of a letter sent by certified mail. After notice has been given, the landlord may file the complaint for summary ejectment with the clerk. This consists of filling out a packet of paperwork that you can retrieve from the clerk. In Mecklenburg County, the current cost for filing the complaint is $96.00. There is also an additional $30.00 fee for each defendant the sheriff has to serve. After the complaint has been filed, a court date will be set. The court date is typically between one to four weeks after the filing of the complaint. At the hearing, you must present your case to a magistrate. Depending on what you requested in your complaint, a ruling will be made on possession and rent that is past due. If judgment is entered in favor of the landlord, the tenant has a 10-day period to appeal. If the tenant appeals, a new court date for the matter will be set in District Court. This can take as long as a few months. During this appeal period, the tenant is allowed to remain on the premises, but must continue to pay rent. If the tenant does not appeal the judgment, or in the case of an unsuccessful appeal, the landlord may have the eviction enforced by filing a Writ of Possession with the court and having it served on the tenant. The sheriff will notify the tenant of the eviction date and ensure that the tenant is physically removed from the premises on that date. If the tenant leaves personal property in the premises, the landlord must provide the tenant with written notice before the property can be removed or sold. The tenant is allowed a 10-day period to return and retrieve the property if he or she makes a request with the landlord. After this period has lapsed and the landlord has notified the tenant of his or her intentions to remove or sell the property, the tenant has 10-days to respond. If the tenant does not respond, the landlord may remove or sell the property. The proceeds of the sale may be used to reimburse the landlord for any expenses regarding the eviction proceeding and / or any unpaid rent. If you need assistance in evicting a tenant or would like to schedule a consultation with an eviction attorney in Mecklenburg County, please contact Adkins Law. Adkins Law is located in Huntersville and primarily serves Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson, Charlotte, and Mecklenburg County. Call (704) 274-5677 to arrange a consultation. |
Archives
January 2022
|