§ 42A-24. Expedited eviction.
§42A‑24. Expedited eviction.
(a) Before commencingan expedited eviction proceeding, the landlord or real estate broker shall givethe tenant at least four hours' notice, either orally or in writing, to quitthe premises. If reasonable efforts to personally give oral or written noticehave failed, written notice may be given by posting the notice on the frontdoor of the property.
(b) An expeditedeviction proceeding shall commence with the filing of a complaint and issuanceof summons in the county where the property is located. If the office of theclerk of superior court is closed, the complaint shall be filed with, and thesummons issued by, a magistrate. The service of the summons and complaint forexpedited eviction shall be made by a sworn law enforcement officer on thetenant personally or by posting a copy of the summons and complaint on thefront door of the property. The officer, upon service, shall promptly file areturn therefor. A hearing on the expedited eviction shall be held before amagistrate in the county where the property is located not sooner than 12 hoursafter service upon the tenant and no later than 48 hours after such service. Tothe extent that the provisions of this Article are in conflict with the Rulesof Civil Procedure, Chapter 1A of the General Statutes, with respect to thecommencement of an action or service of process, this Article controls.
(c) The complaint forexpedited eviction shall allege and the landlord or real estate broker shallprove the following at the hearing:
(1) The vacation rentalis for a term of 30 days or less.
(2) The tenant enteredinto and accepted a vacation rental agreement that conforms to the provisionsof this Chapter.
(3) The tenant committedone or more of the acts listed in G.S. 42A‑23(a) as grounds for eviction.
(4) The landlord or realestate broker has given notice to the tenant to vacate as a result of thebreach as provided in subsection (a) of this section.
The rules of evidence shall notapply in an expedited eviction proceeding, and the court shall allow anyreasonably reliable and material statements, documents, or other exhibits to beadmitted as evidence. The provisions of G.S. 7A‑218, 7A‑219, and 7A‑220,except any provisions regarding amount in controversy, shall apply to an expeditedeviction proceeding held before the magistrate. These provisions shall not beconstrued to broaden the scope of an expedited eviction proceeding to issuesother than the right to possession.
(d) If the court findsfor the landlord or real estate broker, the court shall immediately enter awritten order granting the landlord or real estate broker possession andstating the time when the tenant shall vacate the property. In no case shallthis time be less than 2 hours or more than 8 hours after service of the orderon the tenant. The court's order shall be served on the tenant at the hearing.If the tenant does not appear at the hearing or leaves before the order isserved, the order shall be served by delivering the order to the tenant or byposting the order on the front door of the property by any sworn lawenforcement officer. The officer, upon service, shall file a return therefor.
If the court finds for thelandlord or real estate broker, the court shall determine the amount of theappeal bond that the tenant shall be required to post should the tenant seek toappeal the court order. The amount of the bond shall be an estimate of the rentthat will become due while the tenant is prosecuting the appeal and reasonabledamages that the landlord may suffer, including damage to property and damagesarising from the inability of the landlord or real estate broker to honor othervacation rental agreements due to the tenant's possession of the property. (1999‑420,s. 1.)