Eviction Notice Requirements in North Dakota

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law

North Dakota keeps its rules in two chapters of the Century Code. The eviction lawsuit — the statute still calls it an "action of eviction" — is chapter 47-32: § 47-32-01 lists the eight grounds on which an eviction "is maintainable," and § 47-32-02 sets the pre-suit "notice of intention to evict." The rules for ending a periodic tenancy and for changing lease terms are in chapter 47-16 (§§ 47-16-07 and 47-16-15). North Dakota did not adopt the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, so several notice steps other states codify don't appear here.

Notice for unpaid rent

Two three-day periods stack. First, unpaid rent only becomes a ground once the tenant "fails to pay rent for three days after the rent is due" (§ 47-32-01(4)). Second, before filing, the landlord must give "three days' written notice of intention to evict" — the statute requires that notice "in all cases arising under subsections 4, 5, 6, and 8 of section 47-32-01," which includes nonpayment (§ 47-32-02). The statute doesn't set a separate right to cure by paying, but because the ground is the unpaid rent itself, paying it before the action removes the basis for eviction.

Notice for a lease violation

A breach of "a material term of the written lease agreement" is a ground under § 47-32-01(8), and like nonpayment it requires the 3-day written notice of intention to evict before proceedings can start (§ 47-32-02). North Dakota does not spell out a separate statutory cure window for a lease violation, so how much time (if any) you get to fix it is a matter of your lease, not the Code.

Unconditional quit (no cure allowed)

One ground is treated differently: disturbing the neighbors. When "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" (§ 47-32-01(7)), that ground is not on § 47-32-02's list (subsections 4, 5, 6, 8) that require the 3-day notice of intention to evict. So an eviction on the peaceful-enjoyment ground can be filed without the pre-suit 3-day notice — the closest North Dakota comes to a no-notice, no-cure category.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

To end a month-to-month tenancy with no fault, "either party may terminate the tenancy by giving at least one calendar month's written notice at any time," with "rent... due and payable to and including the date of termination" (§ 47-16-15(2)). Note the measure: it is one calendar month, not a flat 30 days, so a notice given mid-month runs to the equivalent date the next month. A landlord who instead wants to change the lease terms (including the rent) gives 30 days' notice under § 47-16-07.

How the notice must be served

The two notices travel differently. The 3-day notice of intention to evict "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" (§ 47-32-02). By contrast, a change-of- terms notice may be served "in any reasonable manner which actually informs the tenant of the changes" (§ 47-16-07), and the § 47-16-15 month-to-month termination notice simply has to be written.

Tenant's right to cure/reinstate

North Dakota gives tenants fewer statutory shields than most states. There is no general pay-to-cure statute for nonpayment, and no general anti-retaliation law — the only retaliation bar in the chapter protects a tenant who ends a lease because of domestic abuse (§ 47-16-17.1(10)). What a tenant does have is the landlord's habitability duty (§ 47-16-13.1) and a self-help repair remedy: if the landlord fails to make needed repairs within a reasonable time after notice, the tenant may "repair the premises and deduct the expense... from the rent," recover it another lawful way, or "vacate the premises," in which case the tenant "shall be discharged from further payment of rent" (§ 47-16-13). And a landlord must go through the district-court eviction process in chapter 47-32; only a court can order an eviction.

What trips people up

Nonpayment really involves two 3-day steps. Rent has to be three days late before it is even a ground (§ 47-32-01(4)), and then the landlord owes a separate three-day written notice of intention to evict before filing (§ 47-32-02). The two don't collapse into one — a landlord who files the day rent is late has skipped both.

Disturbing the neighbors can skip the notice. Because § 47-32-02 requires the 3-day notice only for grounds 4, 5, 6, and 8, the "unreasonably disturbs other tenants' peaceful enjoyment" ground in § 47-32-01(7) is not covered — an eviction on that basis can be filed without the pre-suit notice.

"One calendar month" isn't always 30 days. Section 47-16-15(2) measures the no-cause termination in calendar months, so notice given on the 20th runs to the 20th of the next month, which can be 28, 30, or 31 days depending on the month.

Common questions

How much notice do I get before an eviction for late rent? Rent must be three days overdue, and then the landlord must serve a "three days' written notice of intention to evict" before filing (§§ 47-32-01(4), 47-32-02). Paying the overdue rent removes the ground.

Do I get a chance to fix a lease violation before being evicted? The statute doesn't guarantee one. A material lease breach requires the 3-day notice of intention to evict (§ 47-32-02), but North Dakota sets no separate cure period — check your lease, which may give you one.

How do I end my month-to-month lease? Give at least one calendar month's written notice at any time; rent is owed through the termination date (§ 47-16-15(2)). No reason is required — North Dakota has no just-cause law.

Can my landlord lock me out or shut off the utilities to force me out? No. Eviction in North Dakota runs through a district-court action (ch. 47-32); only a court can order it, carried out by the sheriff. If your landlord won't make needed repairs, you also have a repair-and-deduct or move-out remedy under § 47-16-13.

Statutes and sources

• N.D.C.C. § 47-32-01 — the eight grounds for an eviction action, including nonpayment (4), disturbing peaceful enjoyment (7), and material lease breach (8). https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c32.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11)
• N.D.C.C. § 47-32-02 — 3-day written notice of intention to evict required for grounds 4, 5, 6, and 8; how it is served. https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c32.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11)
• N.D.C.C. § 47-16-15(2) — one calendar month's written notice to end a month-to-month tenancy. https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c16.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11)
• N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07 — 30-day change-of-terms notice; may be served in any reasonable manner that actually informs the tenant. https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c16.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11)
• N.D.C.C. § 47-16-02.1 — local rent control prohibited. https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c16.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11)
• N.D.C.C. § 47-16-13 — tenant repair-and-deduct or move-out remedy when the landlord fails to repair after notice. https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c16.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11)
• N.D.C.C. § 47-16-17.1(10) — narrow bar on retaliation against a tenant who ends a lease due to domestic abuse. https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c16.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11)