Evicting occupant of a foreclosure purchase

[David Pleasants]

It’s my understanding that the eviction moratorium is for tenants who cannot pay rent for reasons caused by COVID. Does anybody know if the moratorium offers any protections for occupants of properties that were recently foreclosed on? If I buy a property from a foreclosure auction that still has an occupant living in it, it seems that I should be able to evict them on the basis that they don’t have a lease agreement. Is that correct, assuming it was owner-occupied? If it is tenant occupied and there is still time left on their lease, I suppose I would have to wait until the lease expires to get them out, whether it’s through voluntary termination or eviction. Is that correct?

I’m in North Carolina, if state law has any impact on the answer to my questions.

[Christopher Smith]

I think you are in uncharted legal waters. I had a tenant up for renewal recently and I had essentially the same question because it's the only tenant I have ever had that I knew I wouldn't renew and my PM was very worried they might not leave using Covid as justification.

Thankfully for us they left voluntarily, but if they had not no one really seemed to know for sure if we could have evicted because of local Covid restrictions.