What are the steps to evict a tenant for unpaid rent in North Carolina?

In North Carolina, an eviction for unpaid rent runs through 5 steps, each set by the statute or court rule beside it: (1) Make a 10-day demand for rent — N.C.G.S. § 42-3; (2) File a complaint in summary ejectment — N.C.G.S. § 42-26; (3) Magistrate hearing within seven days — N.C.G.S. § 42-28; (4) Ten days to appeal — N.C.G.S. § 42-34; (5) Writ of possession — the sheriff has five days to execute — N.C.G.S. § 42-36.2. The procedure as a whole is set by N.C.G.S. §§ 42-3, 42-26, 42-28, 42-30, 42-25.6, 42-36.2.

WhatNorth Carolina
CourtSmall Claims Magistrate, District Court Division.
Steps with a citation5

Source

N.C.G.S. §§ 42-3, 42-26, 42-28, 42-30, 42-25.6, 42-36.2

Read the statute in the North Carolina General Statutes (North Carolina General Assembly): ncleg.gov.

Checked against the statute on September 7, 2026.

This is a summary of the published procedure, not legal advice. Courts, local rules and the facts of a tenancy change what applies, and a defect in a notice or a filing can end a case. Have a lawyer review anything before it is served or filed.

How Seayora uses this rule

Seayora does not file, serve or appear in an eviction, and is not anybody’s lawyer. When a tenant has stopped paying, it lays out these steps for the property’s own state and city with the statute beside each one, holds back any step that would come too early, keeps an append-only record of the case — and shows the resident what would end it, legal-aid links included.

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