There are many reasons that you may have to evict a tenant. If they’re not following the terms of your lease agreement or they’re engaging in criminal activity at the property or they refuse to leave after the lease is over, you’ll have to evict. The most common reason for eviction, however, is nonpayment of rent.

While the eviction procedures in Matthews is fairly easy to follow, it’s also easy to make mistakes. Even a minor error can send you back to the beginning of the process, costing you extra time and money. We always recommend you get help from an attorney or a professional Matthews property manager before you move forward with an eviction.

Serve a 10 Day Demand for Rent

Before you can evict your tenant, you have to file and serve a notice. First, check your lease agreement to see if it includes a grace period. Once rent is late and the grace period has expired, serve your tenants with a 10 Day Demand for Rent. This gives your tenants 10 days to catch up with the rental payment or move out of the property.

Usually, the rent is paid within these 10 days because tenants don’t want the eviction to go any further. Make sure any late fees are included in the payment you collect.

If you don’t hear from your tenants and they don’t vacate the property, you need to go to court.

File for a Summary Ejectment

You’ll need to go to your district court in Matthews to officially file your eviction lawsuit. Your objective is to either have the rent paid or to remove the tenant from the property and regain possession. Either way, you’ll need to file the required paperwork and pay a fee. Then, the tenants will receive a Summons from the court. Your court hearing will be 14 days after the service of the Summons. Depending on scheduling and workload, the sheriff will serve the Summons in person or by mail within five days of the court issuing it.

After the tenant receives the Summons, you can expect that he or she will move out of the property, pay the rent in full, or prepare a defense for court.

Attending the Court Hearing

When your day in court arrives, make sure you have all the documentation you may need, including:

Copy of the lease agreement
Copy of any correspondence between you and the tenant
Copy of your Demand Notice
Copy of your accounting ledger, showing the tenant has not paid rent

If the tenant doesn’t show up at court, you will likely be awarded a judgment to get possession of the property back. With that judgment, you can file for a Writ of Possession, which will be enforced by the sheriff if necessary. Once the tenant has moved out or is removed by the sheriff, make sure you change the locks.

This is a high level overview of the North Carolina eviction process. For specific details or help with your unique situation, please contact us at Wess Cason Realty. We’d be happy to help.