NC farmland and military land protection bill becomes law
The new law restricts certain foreign parties from holding interests in agricultural land or property within 50 miles of military installations.
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina has enacted a new law restricting certain foreign parties from acquiring interests in agricultural land and property near military installations.
Gov. Josh Stein signed House Bill 133, the NC Farmland and Military Protection Act, on July 7. The measure became Session Law 2026-54 on July 8.
The law generally prohibits a "prohibited foreign party" from purchasing, acquiring, leasing or holding most interests in agricultural land or property within a 50-mile radius of a military installation.
The legislation defines an adversarial foreign government using a federal list tied to restrictions on the import or export of defense items under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
Prohibited foreign parties may include adversarial foreign governments, governments formed within those countries and certain entities, trusts, agents, trustees or fiduciaries connected to them.
The law includes an exception for a limited direct interest described in the legislation as de minimis.
A prohibited foreign party that already holds an interest in covered property before April 1, 2027, may generally continue to hold the property but may not acquire a new interest in the land. The party must register the interest with the North Carolina Secretary of State.
Failure to register may result in a civil penalty of at least $1,000 per day. An unpaid penalty may become a lien against the property.
For covered land acquired after April 1, 2027, a prohibited foreign party would generally have one year to divest the property. If the party fails to do so, the Attorney General is required to begin a receivership proceeding in the county where the property is located.
The law also creates a new affidavit requirement involving land transactions subject to the restrictions. At or before closing, a buyer must provide an affidavit stating that the buyer is not a prohibited foreign party and is complying with the law. The affidavit is to be attached as an exhibit to the deed.
The bill received a 111-2 House concurrence vote on June 30. The Senate approved the measure 42-3 on second reading June 23.
NC Political News previously reported that the legislation had been sent to the governor. The governor's signature and chaptering of the bill are the final actions making the restrictions state law.
Editor's note: This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.
