North Carolina rent increase law

North Carolina's landlord and tenant chapter sets no notice period for a rent increase, and cities and counties may not regulate the amount of rent on private rental property.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-14.1(a)

• An increase made substantially in response to a tenant's protected complaint or repair request can support a retaliation defense if you later file for eviction. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-37.1 See Retaliation on the North Carolina page

Cities and counties may not enact or enforce any ordinance regulating the amount of rent on privately owned residential rental property.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-14.1(a)

• Cities and counties also may not bar a landlord from refusing to rent because the tenant's rent would come partly from a federal housing assistance program. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-14.1(b)
• Local governments may still regulate their own property, rent limits in subsidized or grant-assisted housing, and owners who accept local funding or incentives. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-14.1(c)

In an eviction case a tenant may raise retaliation as a defense and show that your action was substantially in response to a protected act within 12 months before you filed. This is a defense the tenant must support with evidence, not a presumption.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-37.1

• Protected acts are a good faith complaint or repair request to you, a good faith complaint to a government agency, a government's formal complaint to you, a good faith attempt to enforce rights under the lease or law, and involvement with a tenants' rights organization. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-37.1(a)
• You may still win if the tenant's breach of the rent covenant or another substantial covenant is the reason for the eviction, the tenant held over after a fixed term with no renewal option, the tenant's household or guests willfully or negligently caused the condition, code compliance requires displacing the household, your good faith notice to quit came before the protected act, or at the end of the tenant's term you in good faith seek the home for your own residence, for work that requires displacing the household, or to take it off the rental market for at least six months. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-37.1(c)
• If the court finds the eviction retaliatory, it denies possession but may still award rent due. A tenant cannot waive these rights. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-37.2 N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-37.3
• You also may not end, refuse to renew or refuse to rent because someone is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, or used the victim early termination right. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-42.2 See Fair housing on the North Carolina page