What can a landlord do with a tenant’s belongings left behind in North Carolina?

In North Carolina, after a writ of possession is executed, a landlord must hold the tenant’s remaining belongings for 7 days, releasing them on request, and may then throw away, dispose of or sell them, giving at least 7 days’ written notice by first-class mail before any sale. During the seven-day period the landlord may move the property for storage but may not throw away, dispose of or sell it. The notice of sale must state the date, time and place of the sale and that any surplus after unpaid rent, damages, storage fees and sale costs will be paid to the tenant on request within seven days after the sale and then delivered to the government of the county where the rental property is located, and the seven-day notice of sale may run concurrently with the seven-day holding period. If all the property left at execution of the writ is worth less than five hundred dollars ($500.00), it is deemed abandoned five days after execution and the landlord may throw it away or dispose of it. Property worth seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00) or less that is abandoned, or left at execution of the writ, may instead be delivered to a nonprofit that agrees to store it separately for 30 days and release it to the tenant free, with notice of the recipient posted at the premises, posted for 30 days or more where rent is received, and mailed first class to the tenant. For that nonprofit option, abandonment is presumed 10 or more days after the landlord conspicuously posts a notice of suspected abandonment inside and outside the premises and receives no response. Before removing property under a writ, the sheriff must notify the tenant that failure to request possession of the property within seven days of execution may result in it being thrown away, disposed of or sold. This is N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 42-25.9, 42-36.2.

WhatNorth Carolina
Belongings left behindHold 7 days after eviction; 7 days’ notice of sale
What the statute requires firstNotice, a waiting period or storage before disposal

What the statute says

“Seven days after being placed in lawful possession by execution of a writ of possession, a landlord may dispose of personal property remaining on the premises in accordance with the provisions of this section and G.S. 42-36.2(b)”

Quoted word for word from the section’s text.

Source

N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 42-25.9, 42-36.2

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

Checked against the statute on November 15, 2026.

This is a summary of a published statute, not legal advice. Rules change, local ordinances can add to them, and the terms of a specific lease may differ. Check the citation and speak to a lawyer before acting.

How Seayora uses this rule

Seayora keeps a lease’s end date and every notice sent through it, with the date it went out, in the lease record — so the dates a rule like this one counts from are on file rather than remembered.

Guides on this rule

Compare this rule in every state

More North Carolina rules

The same question in other states

Related