Legal Question in Real Estate Law in North Carolina

My mother is a North Carolina resident, and lives in a trailer. She pays lot rent to her landlord, (she owns the trailer, and the landlord owns the land) but to my knowledge, and hers she has never signed a contract with her landlord. Now the landlord seeks to evict her on the grounds of her having too many people living in the trailer and having too many animals, (2 dogs) which the landlord has had prior knowledge of for two years now. My question is, what rights does my mother have, and is she able to fight this in any way? I feel like it's a bit shady not having a contract, and I am fuzzy on what effects that has on the eviction process, if any. Thank you in advance


Asked on 11/13/12, 3:33 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Kenneth Love Ken Love Law

The no contract issue is not a serious matter. It is common for oral leases to exist and very common in the "renting land for a mobile home market. Without an oral lease though, it is likely that the landlord will have a hard time arguing that this is part of the agreement and should not win. I will highlight SHOULD as there is no such thing as a gauranteed case.

In any event, the problem is that if your mom is evicted, she must move her trailer from the land. This is very difficult and may be expensive to do...and in fact the trailer may be too old to legally move. I always disliked the renting the land agreements because once the homeowner is evicted and can't move the home, the landlord essentially can take it by following a few easy steps.

Also, your mom should be aware of any county or city ordiances concerning how amny people and/or animals can be in a home. If she is in violation of this, the landlord may have grounds to evict.

Read more
Answered on 12/07/12, 3:06 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Real Estate and Real Property questions and answers in North Carolina