As a native North Carolinian, I feel pretty strongly that North Carolina is the best state in the country, and based on tourism statistics, everyone else in the country wants to know what makes us so special.
In 2024, North Carolina was the fifth most visited state for domestic travel and direct visitor spending added $36.7 billion to our economy. All of those visitors need somewhere to stay, and many of them choose short-term rental options on internet platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO. But what happens when problems arise? What is the remedy for property owners who think they are renting their residential property to a nice couple through VRBO for a quiet weekend away, only to learn the couple decided to host a house party with thirty of their closest friends? What happens when a traveling nurse books an Airbnb for three months for work and refuses to leave? This post will explore how the law addresses these situations, and some areas that remain unclear.
What is the North Carolina Vacation Rental Act (VRA)?
In 1999 the General Assembly enacted the VRA to regulate the competing interests of landlords, real estate brokers, and tenants involved in short-term rentals of residential properties for vacation, leisure, and recreational purposes. Over the years, growth in the tourism industry in North Carolina has expanded the market of privately owned residences rented to tourists as vacation rentals. Prior to the enactment of the VRA, vacation rentals were not governed by the Residential Rental Agreements Act which creates an implied warranty of habitability for residential rental property rented as the tenant’s primary residence. For vacation rental agreements entered into after January 1, 2000, the landlord of a vacation rental has a duty to make repairs and may be liable for injuries resulting from the failure to repair.
Key Definitions in G.S. 42A-4
- Landlord—An owner of residential property offered for lease as a vacation rental with or without the assistance of a real estate broker.
- Residential Property—An apartment, condominium, single‑family home, townhouse, cottage, or other property that is devoted to residential use or occupancy by one or more people for a definite or indefinite period.
- Vacation Rental—The rental of residential property for vacation, leisure, or recreation purposes for fewer than 90 days by a person who has a place of permanent residence to which he or she intends to return.
- Vacation Rental Agreement—A written agreement between a landlord or the landlord’s real estate broker and a tenant in which the tenant agrees to rent residential property belonging to the landlord for a vacation rental.
Applying these definitions to the two examples in the first paragraph, it seems clear that the couple renting a residential property for the weekend satisfies the definition of “vacation rental” under the VRA. The traveling nurse is a different story. The purpose of the rental is not vacation, leisure, or recreation, nor is the rental period fewer than ninety days. Further, if she travels all the time, she may not have a permanent residence.
What are the Grounds for Expedited Eviction from a Vacation Rental?
G.S. 42A-23 sets out the grounds for an expedited eviction under the VRA:
- The lease has expired and the tenant refuses to vacate the property; or
- The tenant has committed a material breach of the terms of the vacation rental agreement for which eviction is specified as the penalty; or
- The tenant has failed to pay rent; or
- The tenant has obtained possession of the property by fraud or misrepresentation.
The complaint for an expedited eviction under the act must allege which of the above grounds is the basis for the action. The complaint form
AOC-CVM-204 contains the necessary allegations.
How Is a Vacation Rental Tenant Evicted?
The VRA provides for expedited eviction proceedings when the vacation rental period is 30 days or less.
G.S. 42A-23. Either the landlord or a real estate broker acting as the landlord’s agent may file an action for an expedited eviction. The only issue adjudicated in an expedited eviction proceeding under the act is the right to possession. If the landlord wants to pursue money owed or other claims, those claims would be filed in a separate civil action. If the amount in controversy is less than $10,000.00, and the other requirements for a small claims action in
G.S. 7A-210 are met, the case may still be brought in small claims, but it would occur in a separate filing.
Prior to filing the complaint, the landlord or real estate broker must give the tenant at least four hours’ notice, either orally or in writing, to vacate the premises.
G.S. 42A-24(a). If the landlord or broker, after using reasonable efforts, is unable to give oral or written notice to the tenant, written notice may be given by posting the notice on the front door of the property.
The action commences with the filing of a complaint and the issuance of a summons in the county where the property is located. If the clerk’s office is closed, the complaint is filed by a magistrate who issues a magistrate’s summons,
AOC-CVM-205. The summons and complaint must be served by a sworn law enforcement officer on the tenant either personally or by posting a copy on the front door of the property.
G.S. 42A-24(b).
The rules of evidence do not apply in the hearing for an expedited eviction.
G.S. 42A-24(c). The magistrate enters the judgment on
AOC-CVM-206. If the magistrate enters a judgment of possession for the landlord or the real estate broker, then the tenant must vacate the property within two to eight hours of service of the order on the tenant.
G.S. 42A-24(d). Failure of the tenant or a guest of the tenant to vacate the property can result in a criminal trespass charge.
G.S. 42A-26. Either party may appeal for a trial
de novo in district court.
G.S. 42A-25.
G.S. 42A-24(c) sets out what the complaint for must allege and the landlord or broker must prove at the hearing:
- The vacation rental is for a term of 30 days or less.
- The tenant entered into and accepted a vacation rental agreement that conforms to the provisions of G.S. Ch. 42A. For this reason, it is essential that the magistrate review the vacation rental agreement during the hearing.
- The tenant committed an act constituting grounds for eviction under the act.
- The landlord or broker gave the tenant four hours’ notice to vacate as a result of the tenant’s breach.
How does the VRA Apply to Short-Term Rentals Through Internet Platforms for Vacation, Leisure, or Recreation?
Short-term rental bookings through internet platforms have been around since
VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owner) launched in 1995. According to its website,
Airbnb started in 2007 when two hosts rented a room in their San Francisco home to three guests. Both of these platforms, and others like them, allow individual property owners to advertise their residential properties for rent. Although short-term rental occupants and hotel occupants are similar, hotels, motels, RV parks, campgrounds, and similar lodgings are governed by
G.S. Ch. 72. Unlike hotel owners, short-term rental owners who have a written vacation rental agreement with a tenant cannot simply lock out a tenant who violates the agreement or refuses to leave.
The question that arises is what law applies to short-term rentals. There is no North Carolina case law addressing an eviction from a short-term rental involving an internet platform, but the Court of Appeals has allowed a plaintiff to go forward on a negligence claim against an Airbnb property owner and a pool and spa maintenance company for injuries suffered by the plaintiff when she and her husband contracted Legionnaires’ disease after staying in the cabin and using the hot tub.
Poage v. Cox, 265 N.C. App. 229 (2019). The court referred to the obligations of the landlord set out in
G.S. 42A-31 when outlining the owners’ statutory duty to the renters and used the term “vacation rental” when referring to the cabin.
So, what is the remedy for property owners who think they are renting their residential property to a nice couple through VRBO for a quiet weekend away, only to learn the couple decided to host a house party with thirty of their closest friends? Likely, this is a vacation rental as the property is residential, the purpose was vacation, leisure or recreation, and the duration was fewer than ninety days. Presumably, our party couple also has a permanent residence to which they will return when the weekend is over. The agreement between the parties within the VRBO site likely provides a written agreement that is sufficient to satisfy the requirement of a vacation rental agreement. The property owners can ask for an expedited eviction under the VRA because the term was less than thirty days and the house party is likely a material breach of the terms.
Does the VRA Apply to Short-Term Rentals on Internet Platforms for Purposes Other than Vacation, Leisure, or Recreation?
It seems that whether the VRA applies to short-term rentals on internet platforms may hinge on the purpose of the rental. While the majority of visitors to North Carolina come for leisure purposes, not all do. According to
Visit NC data for 2024, business was the primary purpose of nine percent of visitors to the coast, six percent of visitors to the mountains, and twelve percent of visitors to the Piedmont. The definition of “vacation rental” in the VRA does not encompass business purposes, so, what happens when a traveling nurse books an Airbnb for three months for work and refuses to leave?
In this scenario, the rental does not meet the definition of a vacation rental, and the duration exceeds thirty days, so the expedited eviction procedure in
G.S. 42A-23 does not apply. It is possible that the owner required the nurse to sign a tenant agreement in addition to whatever terms were agreed upon in the Airbnb app. If so, that agreement may be enforceable through the summary ejectment procedure in
G.S. 42-26(a)(1) for holding over after the term has expired. The terms agreed upon in the app may also be sufficient to create a landlord-tenant relationship, and if the owner files an action for summary ejectment, the judicial official should review those terms to make such a determination. Read this
blog for more about summary ejectment and the landlord-tenant relationship.
Does the guest have a license or a lease?
The
terms of service for Airbnb refer to the guest’s accommodation reservation as a limited license to enter, occupy, and use the property. Having found no relevant case law in North Carolina, I searched for cases in other jurisdictions. A review of case law from other states fails to answer the question of whether a guest who enters into a short-term rental on an internet platform has a lease or a license to occupy the property.
The issue of whether the occupancy is a lease or a license has been addressed in cases dealing with governing instruments, such as restrictive covenants, of condominium buildings or other types of developments and whether prohibitions in those instruments against leasing the property encompass offering units or the property for short-term rentals on internet platforms. In one case, the court considered the short-term rentals as licensing rather than leasing of a unit and narrowly construed a covenant that prohibited leases for shorter than thirty days.
Wood v. Evergreen Condo. Ass’n, 189 N.E.3d 1045 (2021).
In an unreported case out of Texas, some homeowners in a subdivision tried to enforce a restrictive covenant that prohibited conducting business activities on the properties against other homeowners who rented their properties as short-term rentals. The plaintiffs argued that the rentals were akin to the defendants running a hotel since guests only had a license to be on the property. The defendants argued they were leasing their properties, albeit for short periods of time, and that such leases were allowed by the covenants. The court held that whether the agreement is a license or a lease depends on the characteristics of the parties’ agreement and could not be determined as a matter of law.
Duncan v. Prewett Rentals Series 2 752 Military, LLC, 2022 WL 3567780 (unreported).
In fact,
Airbnb’s Terms of Service caution hosts that some states may have landlord-tenant and eviction laws that apply to longer stays.
VRBO’s terms of service refer to the agreement between the host and guest as a “rental agreement” that will govern the guest’s right to occupy and use the property. They also require hosts to comply with all applicable
housing laws.
VRBO’s 2025 Super Bowl commercial featured a recently retired Nick Saban laying down the law to a family presumably renting his property, then contrasts that with the family’s experience of entering a VRBO where the owner is not present. Ending with a voiceover saying, “When other vacation rentals make you share your turf with a host, try one you have all to yourself.” This seemingly innocuous language may in fact make the case that a VRBO rental is a lease since the renters have exclusive possession of the property.
North Carolina does not have a law that establishes a length of stay that would convert a guest into a tenant. Rather, the judicial official would consider circumstances such as the parties’ intent at the time of the agreement, the guest’s possession of a permanent residence she intended to return to, and the extent to which the guest had exclusive control of the property.
Until a North Carolina court decides otherwise, the owner of a short-term rental on an internet platform who leases a property to a tenant for a purpose other than vacation, leisure, or recreation will likely have to use the summary ejectment procedures to remove a tenant who fails to vacate at the end of the term or breaches the agreement, and such breach allows the owner to terminate the agreement. Read this
blog for more information about how summary ejectment may apply to short-term occupants.
Final Takeaways and Conclusion
- Whether the VRA applies depends on the purpose for the rental and duration of the stay, fewer than ninety days.
- Expedited procedures for evictions only apply to vacation rentals for thirty days or less.
- Whether a short-term rental reserved through an internet platform is a license or a lease depends on the circumstances rather than the label. An agreement that gives an occupant exclusive possession rather than just the right to use the property looks more like a lease than a license.
Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina in the morning or in winter, spring, summer, or fall. The VRA governs the relationship of vacation rental owners and tenants visiting for recreation or leisure, likely to include those who book their stays through internet platforms, such as Airbnb or VRBO. However, it remains unclear which statutes apply to visitors who use internet platform sites to book short-term rentals for purposes other than leisure. The judicial official hearing should determine on a case-by-case basis whether a landlord-tenant relationship exists and whether summary ejectment is the appropriate remedy to remove the short-term occupant.
