North Carolina
North Carolina Squatters Rights and Adverse Possession Laws (2026)
Independently fact-checked against primary sources (last audited August 18, 2026). · Reviewed by the RecordingLaw editorial team. · Law checked current as of August 18, 2026. · 5 primary sources cited on this page. How we verify our legal content
North Carolina sets a 20-year adverse possession period without color of title under , and a 7-year period with color of title under § 1-38. Property owners may remove squatters through the expedited removal process created by Session Law 2025-88 (effective December 1, 2025) or through traditional summary ejectment under Chapter 42, Article 3.
Verified as of May 2026. Adverse possession periods confirmed against and 1-38 (ncleg.gov). Removal procedures confirmed against Chapter 42, Article 3, and Session Law 2025-88. This page is legal information, not legal advice.
Jurisdiction scope: This page covers North Carolina state law only. For a comparison of all 50 states, see the national squatters rights guide.
Adverse Possession in North Carolina: Period and Elements
North Carolina recognizes two adverse possession tracks, both codified in Chapter 1 of the General Statutes.
Twenty-year period without color of title (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-40)
A claimant who occupies land for 20 years under a claim of right, without any written instrument purporting to convey title, may bring an action to quiet title based on that possession. The 20-year period runs against all persons, including those under disability, once the statutory clock starts.
Seven-year period with color of title ()
When a claimant holds a written instrument (a deed, a court judgment, or another document) that purports to convey the land but is defective for some reason, the adverse possession period drops to 7 years. Under § 1-38, the claimant must also enter into and continue in possession of the land described in that instrument.
Paying property taxes listed in the claimant's own name is not a statutory requirement for either track, but § 1-38 expressly states that listing and paying taxes on the disputed tract constitutes prima facie evidence of actual possession. In contested litigation, that evidence can be decisive.
The five elements
North Carolina courts require a claimant to prove all five elements throughout the entire statutory period:
- Actual possession. The claimant physically uses the land in the manner a reasonable owner would, such as fencing, farming, building, or maintaining it.
- Open and notorious possession. The use is visible and obvious so that a reasonable owner inspecting the property would notice it.
- Hostile possession. The claimant occupies the land without the owner's permission and under a claim of right.
- Exclusive possession. The claimant does not share possession with the general public or with the true owner.
- Continuous possession. The claimant maintains uninterrupted possession for the full statutory period. Seasonal use can qualify if it mirrors how a reasonable owner would use that type of land.
A break in any element resets the statutory clock. A property owner who discovers a squatter and grants written permission to remain on the land defeats the hostility element and restarts the period from zero.
Tacking
North Carolina allows tacking, meaning a claimant may add the adverse possession periods of prior occupants in privity with the claimant to reach the 20-year or 7-year threshold. Privity typically requires a conveyance, written or oral, between successive occupants.
How to Remove a Squatter in North Carolina
North Carolina now provides two legal pathways for removing an unauthorized occupant. Property owners must use one of these court-supervised processes. Self-help removal is prohibited.
Path 1 - Expedited Removal under Session Law 2025-88 (effective December 1, 2025)
Session Law 2025-88 created a new expedited removal action targeted specifically at true squatters. The law defines an "unauthorized person" as someone who occupies residential property with no legal claim to it, no rental agreement or contract for deed, no history of rent payments, and no other authorization from the owner.
Holdover tenants, prior renters, and anyone with a contractual claim to the property do not qualify as unauthorized persons under this statute. Property owners who misclassify a tenant as a squatter and use this process face civil exposure.
The expedited removal procedure works as follows:
- File the complaint. The property owner or an authorized representative files form AOC-CVM-407 ("Complaint In Action For Expedited Removal Of Unauthorized Persons From Residential Property") with the clerk of court or a magistrate. Standard complaint forms cannot be used.
- Sheriff service. The sheriff must serve the summons on the occupant within 24 hours of filing, either by personal service or by posting it on the door.
- Magistrate hearing. A magistrate must hold the hearing within 48 hours of service.
- Vacate order. If the magistrate rules for the property owner, the court issues an order requiring the occupant to vacate within 4 hours of being served with that order by the sheriff.
Property managers and brokers must hold written authority from the owner specifically authorizing expedited removal filings, because standard property management agreements may not cover this new process.
Path 2 - Summary Ejectment under Chapter 42, Article 3
Before Session Law 2025-88 took effect, and still today for holdover tenants and former licensees, the standard removal tool is summary ejectment under N.C. Gen. Stat. Chapter 42, Article 3. The property owner files a complaint with the magistrate's court (small claims). The magistrate issues a summons, holds a hearing, and renders judgment on the day all evidence concludes. A party who loses before the magistrate may appeal for a trial de novo before a district court judge within five days.
Self-help is illegal in North Carolina. Under , self-help removal exposes a landlord to liability toward a tenant: changing locks, removing doors, cutting off utilities, or any other act designed to force a tenant out without a court order can result in a claim for actual damages plus the tenant's right to return to the premises. A true squatter's removal is governed by the expedited-removal or summary-ejectment procedures described above, not by self-help of any kind.
Disclaimer: This page provides general legal information about North Carolina law and is not legal advice. Laws change and individual circumstances vary. Consult a lawyer licensed in North Carolina before taking action related to adverse possession or squatter removal.
Page maintained by RecordingLaw.com. Last reviewed May 2026. For the law in other states, see the national squatters rights guide.
More North Carolina Laws
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does someone have to squat in North Carolina to claim ownership?
Twenty years under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-40 without color of title, or 7 years under § 1-38 with color of title. The claimant must prove actual, open, notorious, hostile, exclusive, and continuous possession throughout the entire period.
Does North Carolina require squatters to pay property taxes to claim adverse possession?
No. North Carolina does not make tax payment a statutory requirement for adverse possession. However, under § 1-38, listing and paying taxes on the property in the claimant's own name is prima facie evidence of actual possession, which can strengthen a claim under the 7-year color-of-title track.
What is the fastest way to remove a squatter in North Carolina in 2026?
For true squatters (no lease, no rent history, entered without permission), file form AOC-CVM-407 under Session Law 2025-88 (effective December 1, 2025). The sheriff must serve notice within 24 hours, the magistrate holds a hearing within 48 hours of service, and a vacate order can issue within 4 hours of being served on the occupant. The entire process can conclude in under four days.
Can a landlord change the locks to remove a squatter in North Carolina?
For a tenant, yes. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-25.9's self-help remedy runs to 'the tenant' by its text; changing locks, cutting utilities, or removing doors without a court order exposes the property owner to civil liability toward a tenant under that section. A parallel prohibition on self-help against a true squatter would rest on Session Law 2025-88 or common law, not on § 42-25.9's text, and a squatter should still be removed only through the expedited-removal or summary-ejectment procedures described above.
What is the difference between the expedited removal process and summary ejectment in North Carolina?
Session Law 2025-88 targets true unauthorized occupants with no rental history and can result in removal in under four days. Summary ejectment under Chapter 42, Article 3 applies to holdover tenants and other former occupants with a prior legal relationship to the property, and follows the standard magistrate court timeline with a five-day appeal window.
What is color of title in North Carolina?
Color of title is a written instrument, such as a defective deed or court judgment, that purports to convey ownership of a specific parcel but is legally flawed. Holding color of title and occupying the described land for 7 years under the conditions of § 1-38 allows a claimant to bring an adverse possession action, compared to 20 years without any such document.
Does granting permission to stay defeat a squatter's adverse possession claim in North Carolina?
Yes. Permission destroys the hostility element required under both § 1-40 and § 1-38. If a property owner grants written or documented oral permission, the occupant's possession is no longer adverse and the statutory clock resets to zero.
Updates
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources; governing law re-checked for recent changes
Corrected two errors: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-38's 7-year color-of-title track does not require tax payment (only listing/paying taxes in the claimant's own name is optional supporting evidence), and § 42-25.9's self-help remedy runs to a tenant by its text, not to any residential occupant including squatters.
Governing law re-checked for recent changes
Reviewed and approved by an editor
The Law Behind This Article
This article rests on 4 statutory provisions held in our own legal record, each retrieved from the official source. Tap a section to read the operative text.
North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 1: Civil Procedure.
§ 1-38Seven years' possession under color of titleIn force
(a) When a person or those under whom he claims is and has been in possession of any real property, under known and visible lines and boundaries and under color of title, for seven years, no entry shall be made or action sustained against such possessor by a person having any right or title to the same, except during the seven years next after his right or title has descended or accrued, who in default of suing within that time shall be excluded from any claim thereafter made; and such possession, so held, is a perpetual bar against all persons not under disability: Provided, that commissioner's deeds in judicial sales and trustee's deeds under foreclosure shall also constitute color of title.
Official text (excerpt) · as of 2026-07-29 · Read the full section at ncleg.gov
Cited in 58 court opinionsMost recently applied by a court: 2025
Leading cases: Eason v. Spence (Supreme Court of North Carolina 1950, 232 N.C. 579) · Scott Poultry Company v. Bryan Oil Company (Supreme Court of North Carolina 1967, 272 N.C. 16) · Foreman v. Sholl (Court of Appeals of North Carolina 1994, 113 N.C. App. 282)
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
§ 1-40Twenty years adverse possessionIn force
No action for the recovery or possession of real property, or the issues and profits thereof, shall be maintained when the person in possession thereof, or defendant in the action, or those under whom he claims, has possessed the property under known and visible lines and boundaries adversely to all other persons for 20 years; and such possession so held gives a title in fee to the possessor, in such property, against all persons not under disability. (C.C.P., s. 23; Code, s. 144; Rev., s. 384; C.S., s. 430.)
Official text (excerpt) · as of 2026-07-29 · Read the full section at ncleg.gov
Cited in 55 court opinionsMost recently applied by a court: 2025
Leading cases: Dockery v. Hocutt (Supreme Court of North Carolina 2003, 357 N.C. 210) · Jones v. Miles (Court of Appeals of North Carolina 2008, 189 N.C. App. 289) · Pegg v. Jones (Court of Appeals of North Carolina 2007, 187 N.C. App. 355)
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 42: Landlord and Tenant.
§ 42-25.9RemediesIn force
(a) If any lessor, landlord, or agent removes or attempts to remove a tenant from a dwelling unit in any manner contrary to this Article, the tenant shall be entitled to recover possession or to terminate his lease and the lessor, landlord or agent shall be liable to the tenant for damages caused by the tenant's removal or attempted removal. Damages in any action brought by a tenant under this Article shall be limited to actual damages as in an action for trespass or conversion and shall not include punitive damages, treble damages or damages for emotional distress. (b) If any lessor, landlord, or agent seizes possession of or interferes with a tenant's access to a tenant's or household member's personal property in any manner not in accordance with G.S. 44A-2(e2), 42-25.9(d), 42-25.9(g), 42-25.9(h), or G.S.
Official text (excerpt) · as of 2026-07-29 · Read the full section at ncleg.gov
Cited in 11 court opinionsMost recently applied by a court: 2026
Leading cases: Stanley v. Moore (Supreme Court of North Carolina 1995, 339 N.C. 717) · Heaton-Sides v. Snipes (Court of Appeals of North Carolina 2014, 233 N.C. App. 1) · Myers v. Broome-Edwards (Court of Appeals of North Carolina 2024)
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
§ 42-26Tenant holding over may be dispossessed in certain casesIn force
(a) Any tenant or lessee of any house or land, and the assigns under the tenant or legal representatives of such tenant or lessee, who holds over and continues in the possession of the demised premises, or any part thereof, without the permission of the landlord, and after demand made for its surrender, may be removed from such premises in the manner hereinafter prescribed in any of the following cases: (1) When a tenant in possession of real estate holds over after his term has expired. (2) When the tenant or lessee, or other person under him, has done or omitted any act by which, according to the stipulations of the lease, his estate has ceased. (3) When any tenant or lessee of lands or tenements, who is in arrear for rent or has agreed to cultivate the demised premises and to pay a part of the crop to be made thereon as rent, or who has given to the lessor a lien on such crop as a security for the rent, deserts the demised premises, and leaves them unoccupied and uncultivated. (b) An arrearage in costs owed by a tenant for water or sewer services pursuant to G.S. 62-110(g) or electric service pursuant to G.S.
Official text (excerpt) · as of 2026-07-29 · Read the full section at ncleg.gov
Cited in 36 court opinionsMost recently applied by a court: 2026
Leading cases: Chrisalis Properties, Inc. v. Separate Quarters, Inc. (Court of Appeals of North Carolina 1990, 101 N.C. App. 81) · Twin City Apartments, Inc. v. Landrum (Court of Appeals of North Carolina 1980, 45 N.C. App. 490) · Morris v. Austraw (Supreme Court of North Carolina 1967, 269 N.C. 218)
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
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Sources and References
- N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-40(ncleg.gov).gov
- N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-38(ncleg.gov).gov
- N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-26 - Summary Ejectment(ncleg.gov).gov
- N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-25.9 - Self-Help Eviction Prohibition(ncleg.gov).gov
- Session Law 2025-88 - Expedited Removal of Unauthorized Persons(ncleg.gov).gov
- Squatters Beware: Navigating NC Expedited Removal Law - UNC SOG(sog.unc.edu)
- Don t Try This at Home: Self-Help Evictions - UNC SOG(civil.sog.unc.edu)