North Carolina tenant screening laws

North Carolina's landlord and tenant chapter sets no limit on rental application or screening fees. You have no duty to screen applicants for a criminal record, and you may use a criminal background check as a ground for refusing to rent (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-14.5).

• A tenant's or applicant's criminal record does not make a future injury foreseeable to you for liability purposes (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-14.5).
• Screening must still follow the State Fair Housing Act (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 41A-4).See Fair housing on the North Carolina page
• If you act as a North Carolina real estate broker, keep rental transaction records for three years after the transaction concludes or all funds you hold for it are disbursed to the proper parties, whichever is later. If the agency agreement ends first, use the later of that termination or disbursement of the transaction funds held by or paid to you. The Commission includes applicant background information in its retention guidance; identify the applicable start date before scheduling disposal. This is a brokerage record rule, not a blanket three-year rule for every property owner (21 NCAC 58A .0108(a), (b); NCREC, tenant background information (2015)).
• For brokerage files stored in the cloud, set clear policies for authorized access, security and continued availability when a broker leaves the firm. Once the applicable retention period and any other preservation duty are satisfied, dispose of consumer reports and information taken from them so unauthorized people cannot read or reconstruct it; ordinary deletion or moving a file to shared storage may not accomplish that (NCREC, March 2026 digital record guidance; FTC, disposing of tenant consumer reports).

State screening provisions do not replace fair-housing duties, consumer-report requirements or an applicable housing-funding agreement. Set clear, lawful criteria for the actual property and review the information that supports them. A report entry or score should be checked for identity, dates and context before it becomes part of a rental decision (Charlotte-Mecklenburg: source-of-income policy; CFPB: rental denial and screening reports).

• Charlotte and Mecklenburg County describe source-of-income protections for qualifying city- or county-supported housing. The policy addresses refusing lawful income, discriminatory advertising and different terms based on income source. Verify whether the development received covered support and which agreement applies; this funding-based policy is not a rule covering every private rental simply because it is in Charlotte. Other local or program requirements may still apply (Charlotte-Mecklenburg: source-of-income policy).
• If you deny an application or offer less favorable terms based partly on a consumer report, give the required adverse-action notice. Identify the reporting company by name, address and telephone, state the right to dispute inaccuracies and request a free copy within sixty days of the notice, and explain that the company did not make the decision and cannot explain your reasons. Keep a written notice record even where federal law permits another format, and check any additional applicable requirements (CFPB: rental denial and screening reports; FTC: landlord consumer-report guidance).
• Read court entries for their outcome rather than treating a filing as proof of an eviction. Match the report to the applicant and review duplicate, outdated or incomplete information. If an error is raised, preserve the relevant documents and direct the applicant to the reporting company's dispute process. Keep the criteria and facts reviewed with the authorization, report date, communications and notice record; use the separate broker-record guidance when it applies (CFPB: review a rental background check).See Application and screening fees on the North Carolina page

The State Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to refuse to rent, set different terms, misrepresent availability or advertise a preference because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicapping condition or familial status (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 41A-4).

• The rental rules do not apply to a building with four or fewer families where you or a family member live, or to renting rooms in a private home you live in, but the advertising ban still applies (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 41A-6).
• You must let a tenant with a disability make reasonable modifications at the tenant's expense (where reasonable you may require the interior to be restored at move-out, reasonable wear and tear excepted) and make reasonable accommodations in your rules, policies, practices or services (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 41A-4(f)).
• You may not end, refuse to renew or refuse to rent because someone is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-42.2).See Retaliation on the North Carolina page