What happens when your Outer Banks Long Term Rental Tenant doesn’t pay the rent?

Outer Banks Tenant Eviction ProcedureWhat happens when your Outer Banks Long Term Rental Tenant doesn’t pay the rent?

Eviction is one of the more unfortunate matters that we deal with on behalf of our Outer Banks Long Term rental homeowners. When a Tenant does not pay the rent as agreed they have agreed by signing the Lease, we must file for Eviction which in North Carolina is called Summary Ejectment. This requires the following documents being prepared and filed at the Clerk of Court’s office in Manteo:

  • Complaint in Summary Ejectment on behalf of Landlord against Tenant for not only the past due rent but also for Possession.
  • Magistrate Summons in multiple copies per Tenant.
  • Certification of Identity and/or Notice of Deposit form (which must be notarized).
  • Service Members Civil Relief Act Affidavit along with online certification forms (which must also be notarized).
  • Postage paid envelopes must be provided to the Clerk of Court.

All of these documents must be taken to the Civil Court division at the Clerk of Court’s office in Manteo to be filed and paid for. The Clerk will then issue a Court date which is always a Wednesday and could be from 10 to 14 days from the date of filing in order for the Sheriff to serve or post the documents on the property. If the Sheriff cannot locate the Tenant and he posts the summons at the home, then the Landlord can only get a monetary judgment against the Tenant if he or she appears on the Court date. In a perfect world, they would get personal service but unfortunately, it does not always work out that way. The most important thing is that we get the Tenant out of the property and gain possession before damages could occur.

On the court date, the case will be called before the Magistrate and all parties must be sworn in. Even if the Tenant does not show, we still must plead your case and the Magistrate will rule. Because the Magistrate follows the terms of the lease, we are given possession. If the Tenant shows, they also get a financial judgment filed against their credit as well as we report to 3 Credit Bureaus. If the Tenant has been personally served and still does not show up a financial judgment can still be issued. If the Tenant does not show and no personal service has been made then only possession can be given. The Magistrate awards possession within 10 business days of the date of Court, this excludes weekends. This means the Tenant has 10 days to appeal, pay up or move out. If the Tenant were to appeal, he or she would have to pay all monies due to the Clerk of Court’s office. This is the only way the judgment would be removed.

If the Tenant refuses to vacate the property, we then must file for a Writ of Possession which is a document that permits the Sheriff to go to the home with us and he will aid in removing the Tenant from the property and will stay there while we have the locks changed. The Tenant is then told to not go upon the property because it will constitute trespassing. He or She would have to make arrangements with the Landlord through OBX Housing as Agent to get their belongings at our convenience. It’s a rather complicated process but if your lease is written correctly as our lease is, you can get a non-paying tenant out quickly.