North Dakota Eviction Process: A 3-Day Notice, a Court Date 3 to 15 Days Out, and At Most 5 Extra Days to Move

North Dakota evictions move fast. A landlord has to give a three-day written notice of intention to evict for the most common reasons [2], and once the case is filed, the summons can set the court date as little as three days away [2]. If the landlord wins, the judge orders the tenant out right away, with at most five days of extra time for hardship [3].

Step 1: The notice

North Dakota calls the case an eviction action [1]. Before filing for unpaid rent, a holdover after the lease ends, or a breach of a material term of a written lease, the landlord must give three days’ written notice of intention to evict [2]. Rent is a ground for eviction once it is three days past due [1].

The notice can be served the way a summons is served. If the tenant can’t be found, the sheriff or a process server can post it conspicuously on the premises [2].

A separate ground covers a tenant, or someone there with the tenant’s consent, who unreasonably disturbs other tenants’ peaceful enjoyment of the property [1]. That ground isn’t on the statute’s list of cases that need the three-day notice first [2].

Ending a lease with no fault

Either side can end a month-to-month tenancy with at least one calendar month’s written notice, unless both agreed in writing to a longer period [4]. Rent is owed through the termination date [4]. A lease clause requiring more than a month’s notice from the tenant only counts if the tenant initialed it when signing; otherwise the tenant can leave at the end of a month with one month’s notice [4].

When a residential lease ends and the landlord keeps accepting rent, the law presumes a month-to-month tenancy, unless the lease has an automatic renewal clause [5]. For leases of two months or more, the landlord can enforce an automatic renewal only after reminding the tenant of it in writing at least 30 days before the lease ends [5].

Step 2: The court case

Eviction cases are heard in district court [1]. The summons sets the tenant’s appearance no fewer than three and no more than fifteen days from the date it is issued [2]. Personal service on the tenant within the county must be made at least three days before that date; service anywhere else, or by any other method, at least seven days before [2].

If the tenant can’t be found in the county after at least one attempt between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m., the landlord can file an affidavit, mail the summons to the tenant’s last known address, and have the summons posted on the door of the unit [2].

The case is limited. A landlord can join claims only for rent and profits or for damages from the tenant’s possession, and a tenant’s counterclaim is allowed only as a setoff against those amounts [3].

Step 3: Judgment and moving out

If the court finds for the landlord, it enters judgment that the landlord have immediate restitution of the premises [3]. A tenant can ask for more time: if immediate removal would cause a substantial hardship for the tenant or the tenant’s family, the court can stay the special execution for a reasonable period of no more than five days [3]. That stay isn’t available when the eviction is based in whole or part on a disturbance of the peace [3].

Belongings left behind are handled under a separate rule. Property worth no more than $2,500 can be kept and disposed of by the landlord 28 days or more after the tenant has clearly moved out [6]. If the landlord removes property after an eviction judgment and the special execution has been served, the landlord has a lien for reasonable storage and moving costs [6].

Sealing an eviction record

A tenant evicted for unpaid rent or damage who has resolved all of those claims can ask the court to seal the eviction records seven years after the order was satisfied, as long as there’s been no other eviction in those seven years [7]. A tenant evicted because of a domestic violence incident can ask to seal the records once the abuser is convicted or a protection or restraining order is issued against them [7].

Repairs and the landlord’s duties

A North Dakota landlord has to keep a rental fit and habitable, follow housing codes that affect health and safety, keep common areas clean and safe, maintain electrical, plumbing, heating and other supplied systems, and supply running water and reasonable hot water and heat [8].

If the landlord doesn’t make repairs it should within a reasonable time after the tenant’s notice, the tenant can repair and deduct the cost from the rent, recover it another lawful way, or move out and stop owing rent [9].

Deposits, entry and fees

• Security deposit: generally no more than one month’s rent [10]. A landlord may take up to two months’ rent from someone with a felony conviction or a prior judgment for breaking a lease [10].
• Pet deposit: for a pet that isn’t a service or assistance animal, no more than $2,500 or two months’ rent, whichever is greater [10].
• Getting it back: the deposit goes in an interest-bearing, federally insured account [10]. Within 30 days after the lease ends and the tenant moves out, the landlord must return it or mail an itemized list of deductions to the last address the tenant gave [10]. Interest isn’t required if the tenant stayed less than nine months [10]. Withholding a deposit without reasonable justification can cost the landlord triple damages [10].
• Move-in condition: the landlord must give the tenant a statement of the unit’s condition at the start, signed by both [11].
• Entry: except in an emergency or a few other cases, the landlord may enter only at reasonable hours and, unless it’s impractical, after asking the tenant and getting consent for a specific time, which the tenant can’t unreasonably withhold [12].
• No payment-method fees: a landlord can’t charge a fee for accepting cash, a check or a money order [13].

Domestic violence

A tenant who is a victim of domestic violence, or fears it, can end a lease early with advance written notice that names a person in a court order or other court record, says the tenancy needs to end, and gives the end date [14]. The tenant owes rent for the month the tenancy ends plus one more month’s rent, subject to the landlord’s duty to re-rent [14]. A landlord can’t refuse to rent to someone or retaliate because they used this right [14].

Where to get help

• Legal aid: free legal help may be available if your income qualifies.
• A landlord-tenant attorney: worth a call to check your notice, your service dates and any repair or deposit claims before the hearing.