Recordation of Exercise of Lease Renewal Options Not (Yet) Required Under NC Statute

In Spruce Pine Industrial Park, Inc. v. Explosives Supply Company, the COA made clear that N.C. Gen. Stat. § 47-18 does not (yet) require the exercise of an option to renew or extend a lease to be recorded.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 47-18 requires that conveyances of land, contracts to convey, options to convey, and leases for more than three years be recorded in order to be valid against lien creditors or purchasers. The COA stated that the statute "has not been extended to apply to the exercise of an option to renew or extend a lease."

In a concurring opinion, Judge Bob Hunter noted that "the extension of section 47-18(a) to options to renew or extend leases would certainly assist and simplify the task of title examination in this State," but stated that augmenting the statute "is a legislative task, not a judicial one."

Does Spruce Pine Industrial Park foreshadow legislative change requiring recordation of exercised options to renew or extend leases? We'll watch and let you know.