Rental Property Rules in North Dakota (2026)
14 rules on the books across North Dakota, 2 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Rent Control
Local limits on how much landlords can raise rent each year, including which properties are covered and exemptions for newer buildings.
North Dakota: statewide
StatewideFew RestrictionsNorth Dakota expressly preempts local rent control. N.D. Cent. Code 47-16-02.1 bars any political subdivision from…
Read full rule →Fargo
Few RestrictionsNorth Dakota Century Code §47-16-07.3, enacted in 2017, preempts any city or county from adopting rent-control…
Read full rule →Just Cause Eviction
Protections requiring landlords to have a valid reason to evict tenants, such as nonpayment of rent, lease violations, or owner move-in.
Rental Registration
Requirements for landlords to register rental properties with the city, including inspection programs, fees, and occupancy standards.
Security Deposit Rules
Caps on how much landlords may collect as security deposits, return deadlines, itemized-deduction requirements, and tenant remedies for wrongfully withheld deposits.
North Dakota: statewide
StatewideSome RestrictionsNorth Dakota caps a residential security deposit at one month's rent. Under N.D. Cent. Code 47-16-07.1, the landlord…
Read full rule →Fargo
Some RestrictionsFargo follows North Dakota Century Code §47-16-07.1, which caps security deposits at one month's rent for most tenants…
Read full rule →Rent Increase Notice
How much advance written notice a landlord must give before raising the rent on a month-to-month or expiring lease, and how state notice rules differ from any local rent-control caps.
Landlord Entry & Notice
How much advance notice a landlord must give before entering an occupied unit, the permitted reasons (repairs, showings, inspections), allowed hours, and the emergency exceptions under state law.
Repairs & Habitability
The implied warranty of habitability, how long a landlord has to fix essential services (heat, water, plumbing, mold), and tenant remedies such as repair-and-deduct, rent withholding, or breaking the lease.
North Dakota: statewide
StatewideSome RestrictionsN.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-13.1 requires North Dakota landlords to keep rentals fit and habitable: meeting building and…
Read full rule →Grand Forks
Significant RestrictionsIn the City of Grand Forks, a rental license can be denied, suspended or revoked whenever the unit fails to comply with…
Read full rule →Fargo
Some RestrictionsFargo landlords who supply heat under a lease must maintain at least 68°F in habitable rooms, bathrooms, and toilet…
Read full rule →Lease Termination & Notice to Vacate
Notice required to end a month-to-month tenancy, the rules and penalties for breaking a fixed-term lease early, and early-termination protections for active-duty military, domestic-violence survivors, and medical hardships.
Eviction Notice & Process
The notice a landlord must give before filing to evict, pay-or-quit and cure-or-quit periods, no-cause termination notice, how long the court eviction process takes in this state, and the tenant's options to respond or cure.
Squatter's Rights & Adverse Possession
When an occupant without a lease gains legal protections, the line between a trespasser and a squatter, how many years of continuous possession adverse possession requires in this state, and how an owner lawfully removes a squatter.