lawdepot.com

LawDepot’s NC Residential Lease Missing Required Forfeiture Clause - Magistrate Ruled It Unenforceable for Lease Violations - Here’s What Happened Location: NC, US I wanted to share my experience using LawDepot.com’s North Carolina state-specific residential lease in case it helps other NC landlords. After a tenant accumulated multiple lease violations I pursued summary ejectment in Polk County District Court on April 9, 2026. The magistrate ruled against me solely because the LawDepot-generated lease was missing a forfeiture clause required by NC law under N.C. Gen. Stat. §42-3 and §42-26. She stated on the record that without this clause the lease was unenforceable for lease violation based eviction regardless of how many violations the tenant committed, and strongly urged me to update all my leases going forward. I subsequently verified the deficiency is still in LawDepot’s current NC lease template meaning if you generated an NC lease from LawDepot you may have the same problem. I filed a claim under LawDepot’s published Legal Guarantee which promises to cover damage from a clear LawDepot mistake up to $25,000. After multiple exchanges LawDepot denied the claim arguing the missing clause is a permissible drafting choice, while simultaneously acknowledging in writing they are evaluating adding the forfeiture clause to their NC template. They offered $1250 ex gratis which does not cover my losses. They are based in Alberta, do I have any legal recourse being in the US? Has anyone else experienced issues with LawDepot’s NC lease or other state-specific leases missing required provisions?