Commercial & Residential Real Estate

What are my rights as a tenant? 

ANSWER: The rights of tenants are best summarized by referring to the obligations of landlords discussed below.  

What are my duties as a tenant?

ANSWER: According to North Carolina law, tenants must:

a)   Keep the part of the premises he uses as clean and as safe as the conditions of the premises permit and cause no unsafe or unsanitary conditions in the common areas and remainder of the premises that the tenant uses;

b)   Dispose of all ashes, rubbish, garbage and other waste in a clean and safe manner;

c)   Keep all plumbing fixtures in the dwelling unit or used by the tenant as clean as their condition permits;

d)   Not deliberately or negligently destroy, deface, damage, or remove any part of the premises, nor render inoperable the smoke detector provided by the landlord, or knowingly permit any person to do so;

e)   Comply with any and all obligations imposed upon the tenant by the current applicable building and housing codes;

f)    Be responsible for all damage, defacement, or removal of any property inside a dwelling unit in the tenant’s exclusive control unless the damage, defacement or removal was due to ordinary wear and tear, acts of the landlord or the landlord’s agent, defective products supplied or repairs authorized by the landlord, acts of third parties not invitees of the tenant, or natural forces;

g)   Notify the landlord in writing of the need for a replacement of or repairs to a smoke detector;

h)   Not withhold rent prior to a judicial determination of a right to do so.

Note:  If any tenant willfully and unlawfully demolishes, destroys, defaces, injures or damages any tenement house belonging to his landlord he may be found guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Note:  The list above is not exclusive.  Make sure to read your rental agreement to be certain your landlord has not included obligations in addition to those listed above.  

What are my rights as a landlord?

ANSWER: Landlord’s rights are best summarized above as obligations of the tenant.

What are my duties as a landlord?

ANSWER: According to North Carolina law, landlords must:

a)   Comply with current applicable building and housing codes;

b)   Make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition;

c)   Keep all common areas of the premises in safe condition;

d)   Maintain in good and safe working order and promptly repair all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air conditioning and other facilities and appliances supplied or required to be supplied by the landlord provided that notification of needed repairs is made to the landlord in writing by the tenant, except in emergency situations;

e)   Provide operable smoke detectors; install smoke detectors; replace or repair smoke detectors within 15 days of receipt of notification; replace the batteries during the tenancy;

f)    Any other provisions expressed in the rental agreement, agreed upon by both parties.

Can a landlord prohibit pets?

ANSWER: The law of North Carolina does not expressly address a landlord’s right to prohibit pets in rental properties.  Allowing pets is a matter that is therefore left to the discretion of the owner of the property.  A landlord who permits pets may also charge a reasonable fee for a pet deposit, however.

How much security deposit can a landlord charge?

ANSWER: A security deposit must not exceed an amount equal to two weeks’ rent if a tenancy is week to week, one and one-half months’ rent if a tenancy is month to month, and two months’ rent for terms greater than month to month. 

Security deposits are permitted only for the tenant’s possible nonpayment of base rent and additional rent for water and sewer services, damage to the premises, non-fulfillment of rental period, any unpaid bills which become a lien against the property due to the tenant’s occupancy, costs of re-renting the premises after breach by the tenant, costs of removal and storage of tenant’s property after eviction or court costs in connection with terminating a tenancy.  The landlord cannot withhold as damages any part of the security deposit for conditions that are due to normal wear and tear to the property.

What are the rules for returning the security deposit?

ANSWER: On termination of the tenancy, money held by the landlord as security may be applied to any of the possible uses above if needed.  If the money is not applied to those uses, it must be returned to the tenant.  In either case, the landlord must itemize any damage and mail his/her itemized list along with the balance of the security deposit to the tenant within 30 days of the termination of the tenancy.  If the landlord does not know the tenant’s address, he must hold onto the security deposit for six months for collection by the tenant.

When can a landlord legally evict a tenant?

ANSWER: 

(a)   When a tenant holds over in possession of the property, without permission from the landlord and after the landlord has made a demand for him to leave the premises;

(b)   Some counties in North Carolina allow eviction when a tenant or cropper enters into a contract for the rental of land for the current or ensuing year and willfully neglects or refuses to perform the terms of his contract without just cause;

(c)    Immediate eviction can result where a court finds:

                                              i.      Criminal activity has occurred on or within the individual rental unit leased to the tenant; or

                                             ii.      The individual rental unit leased to the tenant was used in any way in furtherance of or to promote criminal activity; or

                                            iii.      The tenant, any member of the tenant's household, or any guest has engaged in criminal activity on or in the immediate vicinity of any portion of the entire premises; or

                                             iv.      The tenant has given permission to or invited a person to return or reenter any portion of the entire premises, knowing that the person has been removed and barred from the entire premises; or

                                             v.      The tenant has failed to notify law enforcement or the landlord immediately upon learning that a person who has been removed and barred from the tenant's individual rental unit has returned to or reentered the tenant's individual rental unit.

As a tenant, if I make any improvements to the rental property, does the landlord have to compensate me for those improvements?

ANSWER: No.  It makes no difference at all that your landlord has notice of the improvements or doesn’t complain about their being made to the property.  Your landlord does not have to compensate you for improvements you make to the rental unit, unless he contracts with you, in writing, to do so before the improvements are made.   If he does so contract, the compensation can be in the form of cash or rent reduction, etc.

My landlord and I have talked about a problem and still don't agree.  What should be done next?

ANSWER: Your landlord has a right to receive rent; therefore you must continue to pay rent even though a problem exists.  In the meantime, seek judicial resolution of the problem or judicial construction of the terms of the lease.