Landlord–tenant law in North Carolina

What is distinctive about North Carolina

• Deposits: 30 days, with a second tier at 60. Extendable to 60 days where the extent of the claim cannot be determined, provided an interim accounting is given at 30 days.
• Late fees: capped at greater of $15 or 5% of the monthly rent. A 5-day grace period is mandatory.
• Rent increases: 7 days, borrowed from the termination rule because North Carolina has no rent-increase statute.

The mistake that costs the most here

Charging a late fee above North Carolina’s cap. The clause is void rather than reduced, and the tenant’s signature does not save it — which tends to surface in an eviction hearing, exactly when the lease needs to hold up.

Where these figures come from

Each rule above was read against the section it cites and the statutory wording is quoted on the dedicated page, so you can check it rather than take our word for it. That matters more than it sounds on this subject: when we read all 51 jurisdictions we found several widely-published figures to be wrong, including a Kentucky deposit deadline that does not exist, a South Dakota one reported as 14 days when the statute says 21, and late-fee caps for nine states that actually come from their self-storage statutes.

Local ordinances can add requirements the state does not, and statutes move — Washington, Connecticut, Nevada, Rhode Island and Maryland have all changed in the last three years. Each figure carries the date we read it.