The enactment of the Residential Rental Agreements Act of 1977, the Landlord Eviction Remedies Act of 1981, and the Retaliatory Eviction Act of 1979 provided expanded rights and protections for residential tenants. As a result, all residential tenants have the right to fit and habitable housing, and they cannot be evicted without the judicial process of summary ejectment. The law also protects tenants from eviction in retaliation for lawfully asserting their rights to fit and habitable housing, but that law is subject to a number of exceptions. The North Carolina appellate courts have issued recent opinions that address these tenants’ rights statutes. This post will explore these statutes by reviewing the details of this recent precedent.
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Tag: Residential Rental Agreements Act
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After the Storm: Summary Ejectment and Assistance Programs in North Carolina
Hurricane Helene caused historic flooding in Western North Carolina, destroying or damaging approximately 126,000 residential properties. Many of those properties were occupied by tenants who now find themselves in unfit or uninhabitable properties. The owners of affected rental properties face the difficulty and expense of either rebuilding or making major repairs to return the properties to a fit and habitable condition. In addition to housing issues, many tenants have been left unemployed either temporarily or permanently due to damage or destruction of businesses. Loss of employment leads to difficulty paying rent which in turn affects the landlord’s ability to pay the mortgage. This cycle sometimes results in actions for “summary ejectment,” the legal term for “eviction” in North Carolina. This post will explore key issues in summary ejectment in the aftermath of a natural disaster and potential sources of assistance.
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Must a Tenant Introduce Opinion Evidence of Fair Rental Value in an Action for Rent Abatement?
On Tuesday the NC Court of Appeals handed down an opinion in Crawford v. Nawrath, a Mecklenburg County case involving the calculation of damages for violation of the Residential Rental Agreement Act (RRAA). The Crawford opinion is unpublished and thus does not constitute controlling legal authority but nevertheless is interesting and informative, both procedurally and substantively.