North Carolina Real Estate Broker Exam — All Questions

Under North Carolina's Tenant Security Deposit Act, a landlord who collects a residential security deposit must:

• a.Deposit it into the landlord's own spending account
• b.Hold it in trust or bond it, and account after move-out✓
• c.Treat the deposit as additional non-refundable rent
• d.Return the deposit only if the tenant stays two years

North Carolina's Tenant Security Deposit Act requires residential landlords to hold deposits in a trust account with a licensed North Carolina bank or post a bond, and to provide an accounting of any deductions after the tenancy ends. The deposit is the tenant's money held in trust, not additional rent or personal funds. Return is tied to the lawful accounting process, not an arbitrary length of stay.

What is the largest security deposit a North Carolina landlord may take on a month-to-month residential tenancy?

• a.Two months' rent, the same cap as for a one-year lease
• b.Two weeks' rent, the same cap as for a weekly tenancy
• c.One month's rent, with any pet fee counted inside that cap
• d.One and one-half months' rent, exclusive of any pet fee✓

The Tenant Security Deposit Act caps deposits at two weeks' rent week to week, one and one-half months' rent month to month, and two months' rent for terms longer than month to month. A reasonable nonrefundable pet fee is charged separately. Cite: N.C.G.S. 42-51(b); 42-53.

A North Carolina tenancy ends and the landlord cannot yet determine the full extent of the damage claim. What does the Act require?

• a.An interim accounting at 30 days and a final one at 60 days✓
• b.A single accounting at any time within 90 days of move-out
• c.An interim accounting at 15 days, a final one at 45
• d.No accounting until the tenant demands one in writing

The itemized accounting and any balance are normally due within 30 days after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession. If the claim cannot be determined in that time, the landlord provides an interim accounting by 30 days and a final accounting within 60 days. Cite: N.C.G.S. 42-52.

When must a North Carolina landlord or agent tell the tenant where the security deposit is held?

• a.Within 10 days after the security deposit is received
• b.Only if the tenant asks for it in writing before move-in
• c.Within 30 days after the beginning of the lease term✓
• d.At the end of the tenancy, with the itemized accounting

Deposits go into a trust account with a licensed, federally insured depository institution or trust institution authorized here, or are bonded; the landlord or agent must name the bank or bonding company to the tenant within 30 days after the lease term begins. Cite: N.C.G.S. 42-50.

What may a North Carolina residential landlord charge for a tenant's pet, on top of the statutory security deposit?

• a.A refundable pet deposit, capped at one full month's rent
• b.A reasonable nonrefundable fee for pets on the premises✓
• c.A pet charge only if counted inside the deposit cap
• d.No pet charge of any kind beyond the security deposit

The Tenant Security Deposit Act expressly permits a reasonable, nonrefundable fee for pets kept on the premises, and that fee is not part of the security deposit subject to the caps in G.S. 42-51(b). Cite: N.C.G.S. 42-53.

Under the North Carolina Vacation Rental Act, how much of the total rent may be disbursed before the tenant occupies the property?

• a.The entire rent, if the rental agreement says so
• b.Nothing at all until the tenancy has actually ended
• c.Up to 25 percent of the total rent, plus a cleaning fee
• d.Up to 50 percent of the total rent, plus third-party fees✓

A landlord or broker may not disburse more than fifty percent of the total rent before occupancy, though fees owed to third parties for goods or services procured for the tenant may also be paid out if the vacation rental agreement expressly authorizes it. Cite: N.C.G.S. 42A-16(a).