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Though there are no hard survey numbers to demonstrate, anecdotally a majority of rented farmland in North Carolina is still done on a “handshake.” Such verbal tenancies — not reduced to writing or a term lease — are protected under North Carolina state law. Without written agreement, details of the tenancy — in the event of dispute — would have to be testified in court by the party seeking to either prove the tenancy (the farmer) or terminate the tenancy (landowner). One key detail is often the allocation of rent and renewal of tenancy in the event land is sold or devised to new owners during the crop year. This paper address how such allocation should be handled at the purchase contract stage, and also following death of prior owner.
