How to Evict a Roommate in North Dakota (and Other Household Situations)
What North Dakota law says about roommates who are not on the lease, guests who won't leave, family members, renting a room in your own home, and tenancies at will — each with the statute or official source.
Short answer: No roommate-specific statute. An eviction action in district court is available when a lessee, in person or through a subtenant, holds over after the lease ends or fails to pay rent for three days after it is due. A month-to-month tenancy is ended by at least one calendar month's written notice, given at any time, unless the parties agreed in writing to a longer or different notice. N.D. Cent. Code §§ 47-32-01(4), 47-16-15(2)
| Removing a roommate or subtenant | No roommate-specific statute. An eviction action in district court is available when a lessee, in person or through a subtenant, holds over after the lease ends or fails to pay rent for three days after it is due. A month-to-month tenancy is ended by at least one calendar month's written notice, given at any time, unless the parties agreed in writing to a longer or different notice. Notice rule: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c16.pdf. Whether a tenant can bring the case against a roommate depends on whether the roommate is the tenant's subtenant. |
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| Guests who won't leave | No statute sets when a guest becomes a tenant. An eviction action is available against a party who entered by force, intimidation, fraud, or stealth and detains the property, or who by force or threats unlawfully keeps possession. A lessee can also be evicted when a person on the premises with the lessee's consent unreasonably disturbs other tenants. |
| Renting a room in your own home (lodgers) | No separate lodger eviction statute. North Dakota's lease chapter has presumptions for renting 'lodgings': lodgings rented for an unspecified term are presumed rented for the period used to figure the rent (weekly rent means a one-week term), or monthly if nothing was agreed; and rent for lodgings is payable monthly at the end of each month unless agreed otherwise. A person who rents part of a room as a dwelling is entitled to the whole room despite any contrary agreement. |
| Tenancy at will | North Dakota law mentions tenants at will but has no separate termination rule for them. A lease for a term not specified by the parties renews at the end of the term implied by law unless either party gives notice at least as long before it ends as the rental period, up to one calendar month. Month-to-month tenancies end on at least one calendar month's written notice given at any time, with rent due through the termination date. |
Never remove someone by changing the locks or taking their belongings: if the person has become a tenant, only a court can order them out. If there is violence or a threat, call 911 and ask about a protective order.
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North Dakota eviction laws · Free legal help in North Dakota · Roommate rules in other states
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.