proceeding.” Once the four hours have passed,
you must file a complaint with the clerk of court
in the county where the property is located and
have a summons issued to the tenant. A law
enforcement officer must serve the summons on
the tenant. A hearing on the eviction will lx* held
not smner than twelve nor more than forty-eight
hours after sendee, and if the court rules in your
favor, the magistrate will enter a written order at
the time of the hearing requiring the tenant to
leave. In most cases, the tenant will be sensed
with the order at the conclusion of the hearing.
The tenant must then vacate your property within
eight hours after sendee. If the tenant chooses
to appeal, the court will impose a bond in an
amount reasonably calculated to cover any rent
that will come due while the tenant pursues the
appeal and any other damages you may suffer as
a result of your inability to honor other vacation
rental agreements.
Q: If a hurricane or storm is approaching
and a mandatory evacuation is ordered, am I
required to refund the tenant’s money?
A: Yes. If state or local authorities order a
mandator)' evacuation for an area that includes
your vacation rental property, the tenant must
comply with the evacuation order, whether in
possession of the property or not, and you must
refund the rent for each night the tenant cannot
occupy the property because of the order. [Note:
You are not required to refund the rent if the tenant
was offered insurance which would have covered
the loss, whether or not the tenant purchases it. The
insurance offered must be provided by a company
authorized by the North Carolina Department of
Insurance and its cost may not exceed eight percent
(8%) of the total rent.]
Q: What if my tenants cannot occupy the
property' for personal reasons?
A: You are not responsible if your tenant's tenancy
is interrupted for reasons other than a mandatory
evacuation or other official intervention. To cover
these and other possible vacation interruptions, you
may wish to advise your tenants to purchase their
own insurance.
Q: Should I include a statement in the vacation
rental agreement describing the penalties for
cancelling the rental?
A: Yes. It is generally a good idea to give the tenant
advance notice of the consequences of cancellation.
A vacation rental agreement may outline your
cancellation policy and describe any administrative
fees that will be charged, but the fees must be limited
to an amount reasonably calculated to cover your
actual costs of processing the tenant's cancellation of
a vacation rental. Be aware that you cannot require
a tenant to forfeit rent for your property if you could
have re-rented it.
Q: Can I require the tenant to pay rent in
advance?
A: Yes. You or your agent may require the tenant to
pay in advance all or part of the rent, security deposit,
or other permitted fees if the tenant authorizes you
to do so in the vacation rental agreement. You must
deposit the advance payment into a trust account in an
insured bank or savings and loan in North Carolina no
later than three days after receiving the money. The
vacation rental agreement must give the name and
address of the bank or savings and loan where the
money will be held and, if you want to earn interest
on the money, a provision about who will receive the
interest.
Q: Once I have received and deposited the
advance payments in a trust account, when can I
disburse them?
A: You can disburse up to 50% of the total rent any
time before the tenant occupies your property'. And,
if it is expressly authorized in the vacation rental
agreement, you may also disburse any fees for g<x)ds or
services (linen services, umbrella rentals, golf packages,
etc.) you are procuring for the tenant from third parties.
You may not disburse the remaining funds until the
tenant occupies the property'. If the tenant commits a
material breach before occupancy, you may retain an
amount sufficient to cover the actual damages you have
suffered. And you may, of course, refund money to the
tenant at any time prior to occupancy.
Q: What do I do with advance payments if I sell
the property?
A: Once your interest in the property is terminated,
you (and your rental agent) have thirty days to give
the new owner (or the owner's agent) all advance
rent paid by the tenant together with the remaining
portion of any fees paid by the tenant after lawful
deductions. You must also notify all tenants by mail
that you have transferred ownership of the property'
and give them the new' owner’s name and address.
If the tenant’s rental of the property will end more
than 180 days after the new' owner’s interest in the
property' has been recorded and the new' owner has
chosen not to honor the tenant’s lease, you must
instead return the money to the tenant - not the new'
owner - within the thirty-day period. Remember too,
that as a seller, you must inform prospective buyers of
the time period when the property will be rented to
future tenants, and within ten days after closing you
must provide the new' buyer with each tenant's name,
address, and amount paid, along with a copy of the
vacation rental agreement.
The North Carolina Real Estate Commission
P.O. Box 17100
Raleigh, North Carolina 27619-7100
919/875-3700
Web Site: www.ncrec.state.nc.us
25.000 copies of Ibis public document were primed ill a cost
</$.0828
perccpy.
REC 318
1/1/07
