When can I send a 10-day notice to quit in North Carolina?

[Noureen A S.]

New landlord here... After researching, I'm still struggling to understand the allowable late fee, 10-day notice, and eviction timeline for the state of North Carolina...

1. By law (in NC), you are not allowed to collect a late fee for rent until 5 days after rent is due.... is that correct?
2. On which day would I be allowed to actually mail/post/serve a 10-day notice to quit? The 2nd? (since rent is technically late on the 2nd?)

The day after rent is late, I plan to mail and email a 10-day notice to the tenant (or is email a bad idea? Do any of you email as well as mail? Or do you just post the 10-day notice on the tenant's door?)

Thanks in advance!

[Tyler Watts]

NC basically has a 10 day grace period before you can file an eviction. If rent is due on the 1st, then you can file on the 11th if rent has not been collected in full. Even if it's partial rent, you can still evict. 

You need to notify them that you are evicting. They may get asked in court if they were notified. Obviously paper is the best way, but our magistrate accepts any form or communication to the resident to notify them.