[NC] Does a commercial landlord need a writ of possession to legally change the locks after eviction judgment?
We just received a determination in our favor by the Judge following complaint in summary ejection…today 1:45pm. We are in Wake County, NC. The judge was unsure of when we can legally change the locks since we are a commercial landlord. Can you advise?
The lease documents that failure to pay within 15 days results in a mutual agreement that the lease is terminated- The Judge noted this and said he was unsure of the rules for commercial real estate.
6
4
Does the lease agreement address a writ of possession or ruling of eviction? Normally the lease agreement spells out how and when the landlord can take possession. If the agreement has self-help measures in it, that means that you can retake possession now and change the locks (lock out the tenant).
Upvote if this is a clear answer
Downvote if this is not a clear answer
Create DocumentFull Conversation
Hello. Reaching back out. We just received a determination in our favor by the Judge following complaint in summary ejection…today 1:45pm. We are in Wake County, NC. The judge was unsure of when we can legally change the locks since we are a commercial landlord. Can you advise?
The lease documents that failure to pay within 15 days results in a mutual agreement that the lease is terminated- The Judge noted this and said he was unsure of the rules for commercial real estate.
Does the lease agreement address a writ of possession or ruling of eviction? Normally the lease agreement spells out how and when the landlord can take possession. If the agreement has self-help measures in it, that means that you can retake possession now and change the locks (lock out the tenant).
Did you get a judgment? Or did you get a writ of possession as well? The writ of possession gives you the right to take possession with a sheriff to force them out.
Have I answered your question?
Yes, we do have a clause in there that talks about default and possession where we can take possession immediately after nonpayment of more than 15 days. So we should be able to change the locks without having a writ of possession from the courts, is that correct?
We received judgment yesterday and not a writ of possession, however, the judge noted that clause in our lease and asked us to reach out to a lawyer to confirm.
Thanks for sharing the lease details. Since your lease includes a clause allowing you to take possession after nonpayment for more than 15 days, it looks like you might be able to change the locks without a writ of possession.
