North Dakota Renters’ Rights: Deposits, Repairs, and Eviction

North Dakota renters’ rights come mainly from Title 47 of the North Dakota Century Code, and they cover the parts of renting that cause the most trouble: security deposits, repairs, landlord entry, rent changes, lease termination, and eviction. These protections sit above the lease. If a lease term tries to strip a right the statute gives you, the statute wins.

Security Deposit Rules

A landlord generally cannot collect a security deposit greater than one month’s rent. Three exceptions raise the ceiling:¹

Up to two months’ rent if the tenant has a felony conviction, as an incentive for the landlord to rent to that person.
Up to two months’ rent if the tenant has a court judgment against them for violating a previous rental agreement.
A separate pet deposit capped at the greater of $2,500 or two months’ rent. This does not apply to service animals or companion animals needed as a reasonable accommodation.

The landlord has to hold deposit money in a federally insured, interest-bearing account. If your tenancy lasts nine months or longer, you’re entitled to the deposit plus accrued interest at the end. Shorter tenancies don’t earn interest.¹

After you move out and give up possession, the landlord has 30 days to send back your deposit with any interest owed. If any amount is withheld for unpaid rent, damage, or cleaning, you must receive a written, itemized breakdown of every deduction inside that same 30-day window, along with either the refund or a statement of any balance the landlord claims you still owe.¹

Treble Damages If the Landlord Withholds Wrongfully

The deposit statute has real teeth. A landlord who keeps deposit money without reasonable justification is liable for three times the amount wrongfully withheld.¹ Deposit disputes under $15,000 can go through North Dakota’s small claims court, so you don’t need an attorney to pursue one.²

Normal Wear Versus Damage

Deductions are only allowed for actual damage, not the gradual wear that happens through ordinary living. Faded paint, scuff marks, small nail holes, and worn carpet in high-traffic areas are the landlord’s cost of doing business. Broken windows, large holes in walls, burn marks, doors torn off hinges, and missing fixtures are chargeable. Dated photos taken on move-in day are the single best protection if there’s ever an argument about what condition you inherited.

The Landlord’s Duty to Keep the Unit Habitable

Every residential landlord owes ongoing habitability obligations that the lease cannot waive:³

Compliance with building and housing codes that affect health and safety.
Repairs necessary to keep the unit fit and habitable.
Clean, safe common areas, including hallways, stairwells, and parking lots.
Working electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and sanitary systems, plus any appliances and elevators the landlord provides.
Trash receptacles and pickup.
Running water, reasonable hot water, and reasonable heat at all times, unless the tenant controls those systems through a direct utility connection.

Certain duties can be shifted to the tenant in writing under narrow conditions, but only through a good-faith agreement that meets the statute’s requirements.³

What to Do When Repairs Don’t Happen

If your landlord ignores a repair request after receiving notice and a reasonable time to act, three options are available:⁴

Repair the problem yourself and deduct the cost from your next rent payment.
Sue the landlord to recover the repair expenses.
Move out and be released from all further rent and lease obligations.

Vacating is meant for serious problems, like a failed heating system in January or a sewage backup that makes the unit unlivable. Before taking any of these steps, put the repair request in writing, date it, send it by a method you can prove (certified mail or a hand-delivered letter with a signed acknowledgment), and photograph the problem. Give the landlord a reasonable window to respond. Do not hire a contractor the same day you send the notice.

Landlord Entry and Your Privacy

For non-emergency entry, such as inspections, repairs, or showings, the landlord must give advance notice, request your consent, specify an exact time, and enter only during reasonable hours. Consent cannot be unreasonably withheld, and if you don’t object after receiving proper notice, consent is presumed. Notice can be delivered in person, posted on or around the unit, or sent by any method that actually reaches you.⁵

The statute does not set a specific number of hours. You’ll often hear “24 hours” repeated as a rule, but the actual standard is reasonable notice with a stated time.

Emergencies are the exception. In a fire, burst pipe, gas leak, or similar situation, the landlord can enter immediately. The same applies if the landlord reasonably believes you’ve abandoned the unit or are substantially violating the lease.⁵ Using entry to harass or intimidate a tenant is itself a violation.

Rent Changes and Late Fees

On a month-to-month tenancy, the landlord can change the rent or other lease terms with at least 30 days’ written notice before the end of the current month, served in any reasonable manner that actually informs you. If you stay past the month, the new terms take effect.⁶

You aren’t stuck with unwanted changes. If the landlord modifies the terms, you can terminate at the end of the month by giving at least 25 days’ notice.⁷ North Dakota has no rent control and no cap on how much rent can go up. Your practical checks are the market and your right to leave.

Late fees are not statutorily capped, but the lease has to state whether a late fee applies, the exact amount, and when it kicks in.⁸ If the lease is silent, the landlord cannot charge one.

Ending a Lease

On a month-to-month tenancy, either side can end the lease with at least one full calendar month’s written notice. Rent remains due through the termination date.⁷

Here’s a protection many tenants don’t know about. If your lease requires more than one month’s notice to terminate, that longer period is enforceable only if the lease clearly states it and you initialed the provision when you signed. Without your initials, you default to one month, whatever the lease says.⁷ Landlords cannot bury a 60- or 90-day notice clause in fine print and rely on it.

Fixed-term leases end on their own date. If neither party acts, the tenancy usually converts to month-to-month, at which point either side can terminate with one month’s notice.⁷

Eviction: What the Landlord Cannot Skip

A landlord cannot change the locks, shut off utilities, or remove your belongings to force you out. Eviction requires a court order. The statute lists the grounds:⁹

Nonpayment of rent that is three or more days past due.
Holding over after the lease has expired or been properly terminated.
A material violation of the written lease.
Conduct that unreasonably disturbs other tenants.

For nonpayment, holdover, and material lease violations, the landlord must serve a three-day written notice of intention to evict before filing anything in court. Notice can be hand-delivered like a summons or posted on the property if the tenant cannot be found.¹⁰ Without that notice, the eviction case is procedurally defective and should be dismissed.

After the three days pass, the landlord files an eviction action in district court. The summons gives the tenant between 3 and 15 days to appear. If you receive eviction papers, show up. Failing to appear almost guarantees a default judgment, and at that point every defense you might have had disappears with it.

Fair Housing Protections

Federal law prohibits landlords from refusing to rent, setting different terms, or otherwise discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability.¹¹

North Dakota adds several protected categories on top of the federal list: age (40 and over), marital status, receipt of public assistance, and status as a victim of domestic violence.¹² The public assistance protection matters if you use a Housing Choice Voucher or other rental assistance. A landlord cannot reject you solely because you receive public benefits.

Service and Companion Animals

Pet deposit rules do not apply to service animals or companion animals required as a reasonable accommodation for a disability. The security deposit statute carves out this exemption.¹ Under the Fair Housing Act, landlords cannot charge pet fees, pet rent, or pet deposits for assistance animals. They can still hold you responsible through the regular security deposit for any damage the animal actually causes.¹¹

Required Disclosures

Federal law requires landlords of housing built before 1978 to disclose known lead-based paint hazards before you sign the lease. You must receive any records and reports on lead paint in the unit and common areas, the EPA’s “Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home” pamphlet, and a signed lead warning statement with the lease. The landlord keeps a signed copy of these disclosures for three years.¹³ Post-1977 housing, short-term leases of 100 days or less, and senior or disability housing where no child under six lives or is expected to live are exempt.

North Dakota also requires late fees to be disclosed in the lease if the landlord intends to charge them.⁸ Before you sign, read for any non-refundable fees, utility responsibilities, and subletting rules.

Belongings Left Behind

If you leave things behind after moving out, the landlord cannot toss everything the next day. When the total estimated value of the abandoned property is $2,500 or less, the landlord may dispose of or sell it once 28 days have passed after learning you vacated. Sale proceeds go to the landlord, and storage or moving costs can be deducted from the security deposit if those costs exceed the sale amount.¹⁴

After an eviction, the landlord who removes property under a court’s special execution holds a lien on the belongings for reasonable storage and moving costs, and you have to pay those charges to get the property back. That lien does not outrank an existing security interest, like a lender’s lien on financed furniture.¹⁴

Extra Protections for Active-Duty Service Members

North Dakota hosts multiple military installations, and active-duty service members have additional protections under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. If the landlord files for eviction over unpaid rent, the service member can ask the court to stay the case. The court may postpone proceedings for up to three months, or longer if military service affected the ability to pay, and it can adjust the rent owed during the stay.

These protections extend to dependents, including a spouse, child, or anyone who received at least half of the service member’s financial support in the previous six months. The SCRA does not shield a tenant from eviction for property damage or other material lease violations unrelated to payment.

1
North Dakota Legislative Branch. North Dakota Code 47-16-07.1 – Real Property and Dwelling Security Deposits
2
North Dakota Legislative Branch. North Dakota Century Code Chapter 27-08.1 – Small Claims Court
3
North Dakota Legislative Branch. North Dakota Code 47-16-13.1 – Landlord Obligations – Maintenance of Premises
4
Justia Law. North Dakota Century Code Chapter 47-16 – Section 47-16-13
5
Justia Law. North Dakota Century Code Chapter 47-16 – Section 47-16-07.3
6
North Dakota Legislative Branch. North Dakota Century Code Chapter 47-16 – Section 47-16-07
7
North Dakota Legislative Branch. North Dakota Code 47-16-15 – Notice of Termination of Lease
8
North Dakota Attorney General. Tenant Rights
9
North Dakota Legislative Branch. North Dakota Code 47-32-01 – When Eviction Maintainable
10
North Dakota Legislative Branch. North Dakota Century Code Chapter 47-32 – Section 47-32-02
11
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Housing Discrimination Under the Fair Housing Act
12
North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights. Understanding Housing Discrimination Laws in North Dakota
13
US EPA. Real Estate Disclosures About Potential Lead Hazards
14
North Dakota Legislative Branch. North Dakota Century Code Chapter 47-16 – Section 47-16-30.1