North Dakota Security Deposit Law Explained
If you moved out of a place you rented in North Dakota, you are usually entitled to get your deposit back unless the landlord is keeping part of it for a reason North Dakota law allows.
The practical rule
North Dakota's main security deposit rule is N.D. Cent. Code Section 47-16-07.1. The landlord must deal with the deposit within 30 days after the lease terminates and the renter delivers possession.
If any part of the deposit is not returned, the landlord must itemize the application of that money. The itemization and amount due must be delivered or mailed to the last address furnished to the lessor, along with a written notice.
Watch this step
Give your current mailing or forwarding address in writing and keep proof. North Dakota does not make that address the deadline trigger, but the statute uses the last address furnished to the lessor for the deposit notice and amount due.
Deposit cap and pet deposit rule
North Dakota generally caps ordinary security at no more than one month's rent, with listed exceptions for some renters with a felony conviction or prior rental-agreement judgment.
The pet-deposit rule is separate. For a non-service, non-assistance animal, the landlord may charge a pet security deposit. That pet deposit may not exceed the greater of $2,500 or two months' rent.
What can be withheld
North Dakota allows the landlord to apply deposit money and accrued interest toward damage from deterioration or injury caused by the renter's pet, the renter's negligence, or the negligence of the renter's guest; unpaid rent; and cleaning or repairs that were the renter's responsibility and are needed to return the unit to its original state, reasonable wear and tear excepted.
Interest and unclaimed money
North Dakota includes accrued interest in the security deposit regime, but the landlord is not required to pay interest if the occupancy was less than nine months.
Amounts not claimed by the renter within one year after lease termination are subject to North Dakota unclaimed-property reporting requirements.
Condition statement and evidence
North Dakota also requires the landlord to provide a statement describing the condition of the premises at the time of entering the rental agreement. That move-in condition statement can be important evidence if the landlord later claims damage.
If the landlord withholds money without reasonable justification
North Dakota has strong remedy language: a landlord is liable for treble damages for security deposit money withheld without reasonable justification.
That does not mean treble damages apply automatically in every late or disputed deposit case. The strongest argument is built from the timeline, possession return, address record, itemization, deduction support, and amount actually owed.
Sources used for this guide
Source reviewed: April 2026.
Next North Dakota pages
The system organizes the move-out notice, address record, 30-day follow-up, itemization demand, statute-backed entitlement notice, and final demand into a North Dakota-specific sequence.
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