North Carolina’s new House Bill 493, entitled “Landlord Tenant Law Changes” has been passed and signed into legislation by Governor Beverly Perdue. These changes went into effect on October 1, 2012.
The Eviction Appeal statute has been changed so that the tenant, being the appellant, must pay his/her rent on time while the appeal is pending.
Accepting a partial rent payment no longer negates an eviction proceeding, provided the written lease or rental agreement specifies so.
Further, the streamlined disposal limits on abandoned belongings have risen, allowing the landlord or property manager to more often dispose of abandoned belongings five days after the execution of the judgment for possession (instead of the standard ten day waiting period). If the landlord donates the abandoned belongings to a charitable organization, they may donate up to $750 worth of belongings (provided the charity keeps them for 30 days and allows the tenant to claim them in that time). Alternatively, the landlord or property manager may throw away up to $500 worth of belongings. Once again, the five day waiting period remains the same, as do all other procedures for personal property disposal.
The new regulations no longer require but allow the landlord to remove the belongings of a tenant who has passed away and store them in order to re-rent the rental unit. This is done after the landlord properly files an affidavit with the court. A landlord may be entitled and be able to collect the costs of the storage of the deceased tenant’s property from the estate.
Security deposit deductions can now include unpaid late charges and damages made to smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Additionally, the costs of re-renting a rental unit when a tenant vacates before the end of the tenancy through abandonment or eviction may also be deducted from the security deposit.
Landlords of vacation rentals must now separate the cleaning costs and be very specific to the customer what they are being charged for.
See our summary of North Carolina Landlord-Tenant Law for more details about North Carolina’s laws.
