The North Carolina maintenance addendum, Form 440-T, is a NC REALTORS® standardized document that attaches to a residential lease and divides routine upkeep tasks between landlord and tenant. You fill it out by completing a header that ties it to the underlying Form 410-T rental contract, working through each maintenance category with the other party to confirm who handles what, signing on every designated line, and attaching the executed addendum to the lease itself.
Done properly at move-in, the form heads off the most common disputes a tenancy produces: who should have mowed, who should have cleaned the gutters, who should have called the exterminator.
Getting a Copy of the Form
Form 440-T is a proprietary document published by NC REALTORS®, and the standard forms library is a member benefit. That means the form is distributed through NC REALTORS® member portals and through licensed real estate professionals who handle rental properties in the state. If you are a tenant or an unrepresented landlord, the most reliable path is to request the current edition from the property management company or licensed agent handling your lease. Working from an outdated copy pulled off a third-party site risks using language that no longer matches what agents in the state are signing.
What to Have Ready Before You Fill It Out
Gather this information before you sit down with the form:
- Full legal names of every landlord and tenant listed on the primary lease, spelled exactly as they appear there.
- The complete property address: street, city, county, and zip code.
- The execution date of the underlying Residential Rental Contract (Form 410-T). The addendum header references this date to tie the two documents together.
- Agreement, in advance, on who handles each maintenance category. Walking through the sections cold during signing produces skipped blanks and vague assignments.
Completing the Header Block
The top of the form is a header. Fill in the date the addendum is being made, the date of the underlying rental contract, the landlord’s name, the tenant’s name, and the property address. The header language states that the addendum “is incorporated into and shall be deemed to amend and supplement” the rental contract. That incorporation clause is what gives the document legal force, so the names, dates, and address must match the primary lease exactly.
Working Through the Maintenance Sections
Below the header, the form is organized into categories. Some items assign responsibility by default, usually to the tenant; others leave room for negotiation. Both parties should discuss each one before marking the form.
Vehicles
Parking is restricted to designated areas. Parking on grass is prohibited, driveways must be kept free of oil and grease, and inoperable or unlicensed vehicles are barred from the premises. In multi-unit properties, mechanical work on vehicles in the parking lot is prohibited.
Lights, Filters, and Fuses
The tenant replaces burned-out bulbs, blown fuses, and tripped circuit breakers, and relights oil or gas furnaces and hot water heaters when needed. The important item here is the HVAC filter: filters must be replaced at least every three months. At move-out, the tenant should leave working bulbs in all sockets and a new filter in the air return. Neglected filters damage HVAC systems quickly and are a frequent source of security deposit deductions.
Carpets
Steam cleaning must be done by a professional carpet cleaning service unless the landlord gives the tenant written permission to clean independently. A do-it-yourself cleaning without that written approval can trigger a deposit deduction even if the carpets look fine.
Fire Safety
The section covers fireplace use, prohibits kerosene heaters, and bans grills within ten feet, horizontally or vertically, of anything combustible. A tenant who has never used a fireplace is directed to ask for instruction. Tenants also agree not to build a wood fire in a fireplace connected for gas logs and not to store ashes in trash cans.
Water Lines
During cold weather the tenant should let faucets trickle and position lights near vulnerable pipes. If the tenant will be away, they should either have the water turned off and the lines drained or leave sufficient heat running. Garden hoses must be disconnected from outside faucets. A frozen hose can burst a pipe inside the wall, and once this section is in the signed addendum, that repair bill lands on the tenant.
Pest Extermination
The tenant agrees to keep the premises free from visible infestations of roaches, ants, hornets, bees, mice, and other pests. This section works alongside the tenant’s statutory duty under N.C.G.S. § 42-43 to keep the dwelling clean and safe. A pre-existing infestation at move-in is generally the landlord’s problem under the habitability requirements of § 42-42, so a documented move-in inspection protects both sides.
Locks
The tenant may not change, remove, or add locks without the agent’s written permission. If any lock is changed or added with permission, the tenant must immediately provide keys to the agent.
Mold and Mildew
This section runs longer than the others. The tenant must clean and dust regularly, remove moisture from windows and surfaces promptly, and immediately notify the agent of any water leaks, excessive moisture, standing water, or mold growth that persists after cleaning with household products. The tenant must also report any malfunction of the HVAC, plumbing, or laundry systems and any inoperable doors or windows. Mold claims become expensive liability disputes, so following the notification requirements closely is in the tenant’s interest.
Exterior Maintenance
The tenant mows the grass in a timely manner and keeps porches, patios, balconies, and yards free of clutter and unsightly items. Gutters must be cleaned and shrubs trimmed at least twice a year. If the parties want a different arrangement, such as the landlord hiring a lawn service and building the cost into rent, that negotiation should happen before the form is signed and the agreed terms should be noted on the form.
Repairs
If the tenant schedules a maintenance appointment and is not home when the worker arrives, the worker’s time can be charged to the tenant. The same rule applies if the worker cannot enter because of extra locks the tenant added.
What the Addendum Cannot Override
Form 440-T distributes routine maintenance tasks, but it cannot shift the landlord’s non-waivable duties under North Carolina law. Under N.C.G.S. § 42-42, the landlord must comply with applicable building and housing codes, make all repairs necessary to keep the premises fit and habitable, and maintain electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and other supplied systems in good and safe working order. The landlord must also provide operable smoke alarms and respond to written notice about alarm problems within the statutory window.
Even if a signed addendum says the tenant handles all HVAC repairs, the landlord stays legally responsible for keeping those systems in safe working order. What the addendum can do is assign the tenant routine servicing, such as changing filters every three months, that helps prevent breakdowns. The line runs between routine servicing, which the parties can allocate, and structural repair obligations, which the statute fixes on the landlord.
Tenants carry their own statutory duties under N.C.G.S. § 42-43: keeping their part of the premises clean and safe, disposing of waste properly, keeping plumbing fixtures clean, and not damaging the property or disabling smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. The default rule for alarm batteries is practical. The landlord installs new batteries at the start of the tenancy, and the tenant replaces them as needed during the lease unless the parties agree otherwise in writing. That written agreement is exactly the kind of detail Form 440-T can formalize.
Signing the Addendum
Every landlord and tenant named on the primary lease must sign and date the addendum on the designated lines. The form includes “(SEAL)” next to each signature line and a separate signature line for the landlord’s agent. If one tenant signs and another does not, the unsigned tenant has a credible argument that the maintenance terms do not bind them. Collect every signature before anyone moves in.
Electronic signatures work for the addendum itself. North Carolina adopted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act in Chapter 66, Article 40 of the General Statutes, giving electronic signatures and records the same legal effect as paper when all parties agree to transact electronically. One narrow exception matters later: under N.C.G.S. § 66-313(e)(2), the UETA does not apply to notices of default, eviction, or the right to cure under a rental agreement for a primary residence. Signing the addendum electronically is fine. If a maintenance breach later triggers an eviction notice, that notice should go out on paper.
Once signed, attach the addendum to the Form 410-T Residential Rental Contract. The addendum’s header language already states it is incorporated into the contract, but physical or digital attachment keeps the documents together if a dispute reaches court. Both parties should retain a fully executed copy, meaning one with every signature, not a blank version with only one party’s.
What Happens If Either Side Breaches
North Carolina does not give tenants a self-help repair-and-deduct remedy. Under N.C.G.S. § 42-44(c), a tenant may not unilaterally withhold rent before a court determines they have the right to do so. If the landlord fails to meet a maintenance obligation, whether under the statute or the addendum, the proper path is a civil action. N.C.G.S. § 42-44(a) states that any right or obligation declared by the Residential Rental Agreements Act is enforceable by civil action, in addition to other remedies at law and in equity. In practice, that means a complaint in small claims court or district court depending on the amount at stake.
For the landlord, a tenant’s failure to perform addendum tasks can affect the security deposit. N.C.G.S. § 42-51 allows the landlord to apply the deposit toward damage to the premises, including damage to smoke alarms or carbon monoxide alarms. The landlord must mail or deliver an itemized statement of any deductions, along with the remaining balance, within 30 days after the tenancy ends and the tenant delivers possession. If the full extent of the damage cannot be determined in 30 days, the landlord must provide an interim accounting within 30 days and a final accounting within 60 days. Deductions for normal wear and tear are not permitted, and the landlord cannot retain more than actual damages.
The signed addendum does its real work at this stage. When Form 440-T assigns gutter cleaning to the tenant and the tenant never does it, leading to water damage, the landlord has a signed document establishing the obligation. Without the addendum, the argument runs from a general lease clause or a verbal understanding, which is a much harder case to make. The same logic protects the tenant: if the form assigns a task to the landlord and the landlord ignores it, the tenant has written proof of the breach.