Property Management Laws And Regulations In North Dakota

Updated August 5, 2026

11 min read

North Dakota regulates third-party property management through several authorities at once, and the rules that matter most to a management company are the ones covering your license, your client trust accounts, and the money you hold on behalf of owners and tenants. This guide covers those rules for professional managers, with the statute or agency regulation behind each one.

Everything below is sourced to North Dakota's own statutes, agency rules, and court materials rather than to secondhand summaries. Specific dollar amounts and deadlines do change; the citations do not, so you can always open the authority and confirm the current text before you act on it.

Licensing Requirements For Property Managers

North Dakota requires a real estate broker license for any person who, for compensation, leases, rents, or negotiates the lease or rental of real estate on behalf of another, which covers third-party property management. Owners and their regular employees managing property they own, and a limited set of other categories, are exempt.

A person may not act as a real estate broker or salesperson, or advertise or assume to act as one, without a license issued by the real estate commission, and is not entitled to collect any fee, compensation, or commission without first complying with the licensing chapter. (N.D. Cent. Code § 43-23-05)
A 'real estate broker' is defined to include any person who, for another and for a fee or other consideration, sells, exchanges, purchases, or leases real estate, or negotiates or offers to negotiate the leasing of real estate, whether by a single act or a continuing course of conduct. (N.D. Cent. Code § 43-23-06.1(9))
A bona fide owner or lessor (including a partnership, association, corporation, or LLC) who accepts or markets leasehold interests in property owned or leased by them, and their regular employees, are exempt from the broker/salesperson definition when the acts are performed in the regular course of, or as an incident to, the management of the property and the investment in it. (N.D. Cent. Code § 43-23-07(1)(a))
Acting as a real estate broker or salesperson without a license is a class B misdemeanor. (N.D. Cent. Code § 43-23-17)

Client Trust Account Rules

North Dakota requires every broker who handles client funds to maintain a single, noninterest-bearing trust account in the broker's or firm's name at a federally insured in-state institution, to keep all funds that are not the broker's own in that account immediately upon receipt, and to avoid commingling personal funds with trust funds beyond a small service-charge buffer. Trust records must be available at the broker's usual place of business for inspection by the commission at any time.

Every broker must maintain, in the broker's or firm's name, a separate noninterest-bearing trust account at a federally insured financial institution in the state, and must immediately place as a demand deposit all funds that are not the broker's own, including earnest money deposits. (N.D. Cent. Code § 43-23-14.1)
A broker may not commingle personal or firm funds with trust account funds, except that the broker may keep up to $500 of personal funds in the trust account, specifically identified, to cover service charges related to the account. (N.D. Cent. Code § 43-23-14.1)
A broker must maintain, at the broker's usual place of business, books, records, contracts, and other documents sufficient to determine the adequacy of the trust account at any time, and those records must be open to inspection by the commission and its authorized agents during regular business hours. (N.D. Cent. Code § 43-23-14.1)
Grounds for license suspension or revocation include failing to account for or remit money coming into the licensee's possession that belongs to others, commingling others' funds with the licensee's own, and failing to keep those funds in an escrow or trust account with a bank or other recognized depository. (N.D. Cent. Code § 43-23-11.1(1)(e))
A violation of the trust-account handling requirements is an infraction. (N.D. Cent. Code § 43-23-17)

Trust account rules are where North Dakota management companies get into trouble fastest, because a shortage is a licensing problem and not just a bookkeeping problem. The habits that keep you clean are the boring ones: deposit on time, never let operating money and client money mix, reconcile every account every month, and keep a per, property record you could hand to an auditor without preparing it first. Our guide to preparing for a trust account audit walks through what examiners actually ask for.

Security Deposit Rules

North Dakota caps most security deposits at one month's rent, with limited exceptions, requires deposits to be held in a federally insured interest-bearing account for the tenant's benefit, and sets a 30-day itemization deadline with treble damages for wrongful withholding.

A landlord may not demand or receive a security deposit in excess of one month's rent, except that up to two months' rent may be charged as an incentive to rent to an individual convicted of a felony offense, or as security from an individual who has had a judgment entered against them for violating a prior rental agreement. (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-07.1(1))
A pet security deposit for a non-service, non-companion animal may not exceed the greater of $2,500 or two months' rent. (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-07.1(2))
A lessor who requires a security deposit must deposit the money in a federally insured interest-bearing savings or checking account for the benefit of the tenant; the deposit and accrued interest must be paid to the tenant upon lease termination, though interest is not required if occupancy was less than nine months. (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-07.1(1))
Any portion of a security deposit not returned must be itemized, with the itemization and any refund due delivered or mailed to the tenant within 30 days after lease termination and delivery of possession; a lessor who withholds deposit money without reasonable justification is liable for treble damages. (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-07.1(3)-(4))

Lease Agreements And Required Disclosures

North Dakota requires landlords to provide tenants a signed statement of the condition of the premises at move-in, requires 30 days' written notice before enforcing an automatic lease-renewal clause on residential property, and voids fraudulently induced leases.

A landlord must provide the tenant with a statement describing the condition of the facilities in and about the premises at the time of entering a rental agreement, signed by both parties; the statement is prima facie proof of the condition of the premises at the beginning of the tenancy. (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-07.2)
In a residential lease of a specified term of two months or more, a landlord may not enforce an automatic renewal clause unless the landlord notified the tenant in writing, delivered personally or by first-class mail, at least 30 days before the current lease expires; otherwise the lease converts to month-to-month. (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-06.1)
A lease entered into in reliance on fraudulent misrepresentation may be terminated by the defrauded party, who is entitled to the return of any security deposit paid, together with accrued interest. (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-07.4)

Entry Notice And Tenant Privacy

North Dakota allows landlord entry without notice only for emergencies or reasonable belief of abandonment or substantial lease violation; otherwise, entry must occur at reasonable hours, for specified purposes, with prior notice and the tenant's consent, which is presumed if the tenant does not object.

A landlord may enter the dwelling unit at any time in a genuine emergency, or if the landlord reasonably believes the tenant has abandoned the premises or is in substantial violation of the lease. (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-07.3(1))
Otherwise, a landlord may enter only during reasonable hours, in a reasonable manner, and for purposes such as inspection, repairs, or showing the unit to prospective buyers, lenders, agents, tenants, or contractors; unless impractical, the landlord must first notify the tenant and obtain consent to a time certain, which may not be unreasonably withheld. (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-07.3(2))
Consent to entry is presumed from a tenant's failure to object after notice of intent to enter at a specified time has been given; the landlord may not abuse the right of access or use it to harass or intimidate the tenant. (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-07.3)

Rent, Late Fees, And Other Charges

North Dakota affirmatively bars local rent-control ordinances and prohibits landlords from charging tenants a fee simply to accept a check, cash, or money order for rent.

A political subdivision may not enact, maintain, or enforce an ordinance or resolution that would have the effect of controlling the amount of rent charged for leasing private residential or commercial property. (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-02.1)
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 under a lease for real property. (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-20.1)

Fee income is also taxable income, and how you record management fees, late fees, and pass, through charges affects both your compliance position and your books. See our guide to North Dakota property management tax deductions for the reporting side.

Fair Housing Obligations

North Dakota's Housing Discrimination Act, enforced by the Department of Labor and Human Rights, tracks the federal protected classes and adds age and status with respect to marriage or receipt of public assistance.

A person may not refuse to rent, or otherwise make unavailable or deny, a dwelling to an individual because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, familial status, national origin, or status with respect to marriage or public assistance. (N.D. Cent. Code § 14-02.5-02(1))
The North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights is the 'department' charged with administering and enforcing the Housing Discrimination Act. (N.D. Cent. Code § 14-02.5-01(5))
A person whose business includes residential real estate-related transactions, including brokering, may not discriminate in making such a transaction available, or in its terms or conditions, on the basis of the same protected classes. (N.D. Cent. Code § 14-02.5-07)

Habitability And Safety Duties

North Dakota imposes detailed statutory maintenance duties on residential landlords and voids unconscionable lease provisions, but its only explicit statutory anti-retaliation protection is narrowly tied to tenants exercising the domestic-violence lease-termination right, rather than a general retaliation statute.

A residential landlord must comply with applicable building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety, make repairs to keep the premises fit and habitable, maintain common areas and all electrical, plumbing, heating, and ventilating systems in good working order, and supply running water and reasonable heat and hot water. (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-13.1(1))
A court may refuse to enforce, or may limit, a residential rental agreement or settlement provision that it finds was unconscionable when made. (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-13.3)
A person may not refuse to rent to, or otherwise retaliate against, a tenant, applicant, or household member solely because the tenant or applicant exercised the statutory right to terminate a lease due to domestic violence; a court may award statutory damages of $1,000 for a violation, plus actual damages, attorney's fees, costs, and disbursements. (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-17.1(10)-(11))

Eviction Basics

North Dakota eviction actions are brought in district court under a dedicated eviction chapter. Nonpayment grounds require the tenant to be in default for three days after rent is due, and most grounds require three days' written notice of intent to evict before the action is filed.

An eviction action is maintainable in district court when a lessee holds over after lease termination or expiration, fails to pay rent for three days after it is due, violates a material lease term, or unreasonably disturbs other tenants' peaceful enjoyment of the premises, among other grounds. (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-32-01)
For holdover, post-sale, post-judgment, and material lease violation grounds, the landlord must give the tenant three days' written notice of intention to evict before the eviction action can be instituted. (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-32-02)
If the court finds for the landlord, it must enter judgment for immediate restitution of the premises, though the court may stay execution for up to five days if immediate restitution would work a substantial hardship on the tenant or the tenant's family (this stay is unavailable where the judgment is based on a disturbance of the peace). (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-32-04)

Staying Compliant Without Guessing

Most North Dakota compliance failures are not decisions, they are drift: a deposit that sat too long, a reconciliation that got skipped in a busy month, a lease template that never got updated after a statute changed. Build the calendar first. Monthly trust reconciliations, an annual review of your lease and disclosure packet against current statutes, and a documented process for deposits and refunds cover the large majority of what an examiner will ask about.

This guide is a starting point for professional managers, not legal advice. For a specific dispute, a novel fact pattern, or anything with real money at stake, work with a North Dakota attorney, and confirm the current text of any statute cited above with the North Dakota Real Estate Commission or the North Dakota legislature.