GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2003
SESSION LAW 2003-370
SENATE BILL 847
AN ACT to clarify late fees charged to residential tenants.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 42-46(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a) In all residential
rental agreements in which a definite time for the payment of the rent is
fixed, the parties may agree to a late fee not to exceed fifteen dollars
($15.00) or five percent (5%) of the rental payment, whichever is greater, to
be charged by the lessor inconsistent with the provisions of this
subsection, to be chargeable only if any rental payment is five days or
more late. If the rent:
(1) Is due in monthly installments, a landlord may charge a late fee not to exceed fifteen dollars ($15.00) or five percent (5%) of the monthly rent, whichever is greater.
(2) Is due in weekly installments, a landlord may charge a late fee not to exceed four dollars ($4.00) or five percent (5%) of the weekly rent, whichever is greater.
(3) Is subsidized by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, by the United States Department of Agriculture, by a State agency, by a public housing authority, or by a local government, any late fee shall be calculated in accordance with subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection on the tenant's share of the contract rent only, and the rent subsidy shall not be included."
SECTION 2. This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 16th day of July, 2003.
s/ Marc Basnight
President Pro Tempore of the Senate
s/ Richard T. Morgan
Speaker of the House of Representatives
s/ Michael F. Easley
Governor
Approved 10:56 a.m. this 1st day of August, 2003