Rental Property Rules in North Dakota (2026)
12 rules on the books across North Dakota, 1 city or county. 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.
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 →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.