North Dakota eviction notice and late fee rules

Notice for unpaid rent

3 days — In cases under subsections 4, 5, 6, and 8 of § 47-32-01 (including nonpayment and material lease violation), three days' written notice of intention to evict must be given before proceedings can be started.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

If a lease converts to a month-to-month tenancy under § 47-16-06 or 47-16-06.1, either party may end it on the last day of a month with at least one calendar month's notice.

Late-fee limit

No statutory cap found

Grace period before a late fee

None found in the statutes we read

What we could not verify for North Dakota: No statute capping or setting a grace period for residential late fees was found in N.D.C.C. ch. 47-16 or 47-32; no general retaliatory-eviction or self-help/lockout provision found there (retaliation text covers only domestic-violence lease termination). No just-cause rule. Chapter 33-06 PDF is not the eviction chapter (eviction is ch. 47-32).

Notice for unpaid rent

An eviction action is maintainable when a lessee holds over after the lease ends or fails to pay rent for three days after the rent is due.

“A lessee, in person or by subtenant, holds over after the termination of the lease or expiration of the lessee's term, or fails to pay rent for three days after the rent is due.”
N.D. Cent. Code § 47-32-01(4)

In cases under subsections 4, 5, 6, and 8 of § 47-32-01 (including nonpayment and material lease violation), three days' written notice of intention to evict must be given before proceedings can be started.

“In all cases arising under subsections 4, 5, 6, and 8 of section 47-32-01, three days' written notice of intention to evict must be given to the lessee, subtenant, or party in possession, before proceedings can be instituted.”
N.D. Cent. Code § 47-32-02

Notice for other lease violations

An eviction action is maintainable when the lessee violates a material term of the written lease, or when the lessee or someone there with the lessee's consent unreasonably disturbs other tenants' peaceful enjoyment.

“A lessee or a person on the premises with the lessee's consent acts in a manner that unreasonably disturbs other tenants' peaceful enjoyment of the premises. 8. The lessee violates a material term of the written lease agreement between the lessor and lessee.”
N.D. Cent. Code § 47-32-01(7)-(8)

Ending a month-to-month or other periodic tenancy

If a lease converts to a month-to-month tenancy under § 47-16-06 or 47-16-06.1, either party may end it on the last day of a month with at least one calendar month's notice.

“If a lease converts to a month-to-month tenancy under section 47-16-06 or 47-16-06.1, either party may terminate the lease on the last day of a month with at least one calendar month's notice.”
N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-15(5)

A lease for an unspecified term is deemed renewed at the end of the term implied by law unless a party gives notice of intent to terminate at least as long before expiration as the term of the hiring, not exceeding one calendar month.

“A lease of real property for a term not specified by the parties is deemed to be renewed as stated in section 47-16-06 at the end of the term implied by law, unless one of the parties gives notice to the other of an intention to terminate the lease, at least as long before the expiration of the lease as the term of the hiring itself, not exceeding one calendar month.”
N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-15(1)

Retaliation

A person may not deny a dwelling or otherwise retaliate in the rental of a dwelling solely because a tenant, applicant, or household member exercised the right to terminate a lease under § 47-16-17.1 (domestic abuse termination).

“A person may not refuse to rent, refuse to negotiate for the rental of, or in any other manner make unavailable or deny a dwelling to an individual, or otherwise retaliate in the rental of a dwelling solely because a tenant or applicant or a household member of the tenant or applicant exercised the right to terminate a lease under this section.”
N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-17.1

What the notice must say and how it is delivered

The notice of intention to evict may be served and returned as a summons is, or, if the party cannot be found, posted conspicuously on the premises by the sheriff or a process server.

“The notice may be served and returned as a summons is served and returned or, if the party cannot be found, then by the sheriff of the county or a process server posting the notice conspicuously upon the premises.”
N.D. Cent. Code § 47-32-02

Court deadlines and the eviction case

The appearance date in an eviction summons must be not fewer than three nor more than fifteen days from the date the summons is issued.

“In any action for eviction the time specified in the summons for the appearance of the defendant may not be fewer than three nor more than fifteen days from the date on which the summons is issued.”
N.D. Cent. Code § 47-32-02

If the court finds for the plaintiff it enters judgment for immediate restitution; on a showing of substantial hardship, except where the judgment rests on disturbance of the peace, the court may stay execution for a reasonable period not exceeding five days.

“Upon a showing by the defendant that immediate restitution of the premises would work a substantial hardship on the defendant or the defendant's family, except in cases in which the eviction judgment is based in whole or in part on a disturbance of the peace, the court may stay the special execution for a reasonable period, not to exceed five days.”
N.D. Cent. Code § 47-32-04

Late fees and grace periods

A landlord may not charge a tenant a fee to accept cash, a check, or a money order for rent or any other payment required under a lease.

“A landlord may not charge a tenant a fee to accept cash, a check, or a money order for the payment of rent or any other payment required by the landlord under a lease for real property.”
N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-20.1

If you have received a notice

1. Write down the date you received it and how it was delivered.
2. Check what it asks for — payment, fixing a problem, or moving out — and the deadline it gives against the North Dakota rules above.
3. Keep paying what you can document; ask for receipts.
4. If you receive court papers, note the response deadline on them; a legal-aid office or the court’s self-help center can help.

Check another situation with the eviction notice checker or the late fee checker.

Common questions

How much notice does a landlord in North Dakota have to give for unpaid rent?

In cases under subsections 4, 5, 6, and 8 of § 47-32-01 (including nonpayment and material lease violation), three days' written notice of intention to evict must be given before proceedings can be started. (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-32-02).

How much notice is needed to end a month-to-month tenancy in North Dakota?

If a lease converts to a month-to-month tenancy under § 47-16-06 or 47-16-06.1, either party may end it on the last day of a month with at least one calendar month's notice. (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-15(5)).