Late Rent Fee Limits in North Dakota

At a glance

What actually governs a late fee in North Dakota

North Dakota's residential landlord-tenant law is the Leasing of Real Property chapter, N.D.C.C. ch. 47-16. Read section by section, it covers leases and their terms, security deposits, repairs and habitability, landlord entry, termination, and eviction — but it says nothing about a late fee on overdue rent. There is no statutory maximum, no required grace period, and no rule that a late fee be disclosed in writing.

That leaves a late fee to the lease and to ordinary contract law. In practice this means three things. First, a landlord may charge a late fee only if the rental agreement provides for one; a fee that is not in the agreement is not owed. Second, because there is no statutory ceiling, the size of the fee is whatever the lease sets — subject to the general contract-law rule that a stipulated charge must be a reasonable estimate of the landlord's loss, not a penalty, and to the chapter's unconscionability provision (§ 47-16-13.3), under which a court can refuse to enforce or trim an unconscionable lease term. Third, the "grace period" is whatever the lease says; the statute imposes none.

What trips people up

A landlord cannot charge you a fee just to accept your rent. Section 47-16-20.1 says 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." That is not a late-fee rule, but it stops a landlord from bolting a payment-processing charge onto rent and calling it something else. A true late fee — for rent that is actually overdue — still comes only from the lease.

Unconscionability, not a dollar cap, is the ceiling. Because no statute caps the fee, a tenant contesting an excessive late fee argues it is an unenforceable penalty under contract law or an unconscionable term the court may refuse to enforce under § 47-16-13.3. In an action under the chapter's habitability and maintenance sections (§§ 47-16-13.1 to -13.6), a court may award attorney's fees to the prevailing party (§ 47-16-13.6). North Dakota also bars local governments from controlling the amount of rent (§ 47-16-02.1).

Common questions

Is there a maximum late fee in North Dakota? No. No statute caps a residential late fee, so the amount is whatever the lease provides, subject to the general rule that it be reasonable rather than a penalty and not unconscionable.

Do I have to pay a late fee that isn't in my lease? No. With no statute creating a late fee, the charge exists only if the rental agreement provides for it.

Can the landlord add a fee for taking my check or money order? No. Section 47-16-20.1 bars a fee to accept cash, a check, or a money order for rent or any other required payment.

Statutes and sources

• N.D.C.C. § 47-16-20.1 — a landlord may not charge a fee to accept a rent payment.

  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.

Official source: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c16.pdf (accessed 2026-07-20) - N.D.C.C. § 47-16-13.3 — a court may refuse to enforce, or may limit, an unconscionable residential rental-agreement provision.

If a court of competent jurisdiction, as a matter of law, finds: a. A residential dwelling unit rental agreement or any provision thereof was unconscionable when made, the court may refuse to enforce the agreement, enforce the remainder of the agreement without the unconscionable provision, or limit the application of any unconscionable provision to avoid an unconscionable result.

Official source: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c16.pdf (accessed 2026-07-20) - N.D.C.C. § 47-16-02.1 — local governments may not control the amount of 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.

Official source: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c16.pdf (accessed 2026-07-20)