Quick Answer
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-14 sets the notice to quit that ends a periodic tenancy. A month-to-month tenancy ends with a notice of seven days. A week-to-week tenancy ends with a notice of two days. A year-to-year tenancy ends with a notice given one month or more before the end of the current year of the tenancy. For a manufactured-home space, the notice must be given at least 60 days before the end of the current rental period. Statute text last checked October 22, 2026.
Key Takeaways
- Month-to-month: seven days. The statute describes it as “a like notice of seven days.”
- Week-to-week: two days.
- Year-to-year: one month or more before the end of the current year.
- Manufactured-home space: 60 days before the end of the current rental period, regardless of the tenancy’s term.
- Use a date you can prove. The notice is only as useful as the record of when it was given.
1. Which Tenancy Do You Have?
The notice period depends on how the tenancy is measured. A lease that has run out and rolled into a month-to-month pattern, where the tenant keeps paying monthly rent, is generally treated by its rent period. Read the rent period in the lease first. If the lease is silent, look at how rent has actually been paid and recorded.
2. The Notice Periods
| Tenancy | Notice to quit under § 42-14 |
|---|---|
| Year-to-year | One month or more before the end of the current year |
| Month-to-month | Seven days |
| Week-to-week | Two days |
| Manufactured-home space | At least 60 days before the end of the current rental period |
The seven-day figure for month-to-month tenancies is short compared with many states. It still needs to be a written notice with a date you can show. Seven days gives the tenant little time, so a longer courtesy period, stated in writing, is a choice you can make while keeping the statutory minimum as the floor.
3. Writing the Notice
A usable notice states the address, the date the notice is given, the date the tenancy ends, and how the notice was delivered. Keep a copy. If you deliver it by hand, note the time and who received it. If you mail it, keep the receipt. The records show your dates if the end date is ever questioned.
4. Counting the Days
Count from the day after the notice is given. If the notice is given on the 3rd and the period is seven days, the end date is the 10th. Write the end date in the notice itself so there is no arithmetic left for anyone to repeat.
5. Notice Forms
North Carolina REALTORS® publishes a Notice of Month-to-Month Tenancy form, Form 428, among its forms revised for July 1, 2026. A form helps you capture the date, address, and delivery method in one place, but the statute is the source of the notice period. Check any form against § 42-14 before you use it.
6. A Checklist
- Identify the tenancy type from the lease and the rent record.
- Pick the statutory period from the table.
- Write the notice with the end date stated.
- Deliver it in a way you can document and keep a copy.
- Record the delivery date in the tenant file.
7. What This Guide Does Not Cover
This guide covers the notice periods in G.S. 42-14. It does not cover nonpayment or breach, which have their own rules, the court process after a tenant stays, retaliation, or fixed-term leases that end on their own date. It states the statute and does not predict how a court will rule.
8. Questions Owners Ask
Is seven days really enough for a month-to-month tenant? Section 42-14 sets seven days as the notice period. You may choose to give more and write that choice into the notice.
What if the tenant stays after the end date? A tenant who holds over after the term has ended may be removed through summary ejectment under G.S. 42-26. That process is outside this guide, so see a North Carolina attorney or the court’s materials.
Does the same rule apply to a manufactured-home lot? No. For a rental of a manufactured-home space only, the notice must be given at least 60 days before the end of the current rental period.