Small landlord exemptions from just-cause eviction and rent control laws
North Dakota is one of the easiest states in the country to answer the small-landlord question, because the answer is structural: the state draws no legal distinction between a one-duplex owner and a corporate portfolio, and none is needed. There is no just-cause eviction statute to be exempted from, and SB 2046 (2019) preempts local rent control, so no Fargo or Bismarck ordinance can create a rent cap with a mom-and-pop carve-out. The rulebook is short, and everyone reads from the same one.
The baseline that applies to you is N.D.C.C. § 47-16 (Leasing of Real Property), with lease termination governed by a 30-day notice under § 47-16-15. Your real compliance exposure as a small owner is not exemption paperwork — it is the handful of duties that never shrink with size: habitability, anti-retaliation, and fair housing.
The term "mom-and-pop landlord" typically refers to an individual or family that owns a small number of residential rental units, often 1 to 4, and frequently lives in or near the property. In states with tenant-protection legislation, the legislature has carved out exemptions recognizing that small landlords operate differently from large institutional property managers.
North Dakota has no statewide just-cause eviction law and no active rent control, so all residential landlords, small or large, operate under the same straightforward statutory framework. There is no formal "small landlord" exemption because none is needed: you may terminate a month-to-month tenancy with proper notice without providing a reason, and you may set or raise rent to any amount you choose.
Exemptions only exist where there is a burden to be exempted from. In states with just-cause eviction laws or rent stabilization, legislatures typically spare owner-occupied duplexes or landlords under a unit-count threshold. North Dakota never built the burden in the first place. There is no just-cause requirement anywhere in state law, and SB 2046 (2019) preempts local rent control, closing the door on city-level ordinances that might otherwise have carried their own small-landlord thresholds.
The result is a flat rulebook: the "units" column on this page reads N/A because no statute in N.D.C.C. § 47-16 keys any right or duty to how many rentals you own. A single-condo owner in Grand Forks and a multi-state REIT operate under identical termination, habitability, and retaliation rules.
Lease termination runs through N.D.C.C. § 47-16-15, which governs ending a tenancy on 30 days' notice. For a month-to-month tenant, that means you may decline to continue the tenancy without stating a reason, as long as the reason is not discriminatory or retaliatory. A fixed-term lease still runs to its end date — the statute does not let you cut a lease short without grounds the lease or law provides.
On pricing, North Dakota imposes no rent cap of any kind, and SB 2046 preemption guarantees no city ever will under current law. With an average rent of $768 — among the lowest baselines in the country — the market is the only ceiling. Increases still require proper notice for periodic tenancies and cannot rewrite an unexpired fixed-term lease.
Light regulation is not zero regulation, and the rules that remain apply to every owner equally:
Because the statute is thin, your lease and your paper trail do most of the compliance work. Serve every termination as a written 30-day notice that tracks N.D.C.C. § 47-16-15, and calendar the date it was delivered. Keep a dated log of repair requests and completions — it is your defense on both habitability under § 47-16-13.1 and retaliation under § 47-16-17.1, since the retaliation question is almost always about sequence: complaint first, adverse action second.
Write an entry-notice procedure into the lease, since the statute leaves the hours unspecified and a written standard prevents the argument. When you raise rent, do it at renewal with clean notice and a note in your file of the business reason. None of this is legally required beyond the statutes cited — but in a no-carve-out state, discipline is what separates an easy nonrenewal from a contested one.
This page was researched and written by the Eviction Risk Map research team, drawing on N.D.C.C. § 47-16 (Leasing of Real Property) — including § 47-16-15 (termination notice), § 47-16-13.1 (habitability), and § 47-16-17.1 (retaliation) — together with SB 2046 (2019), North Dakota's local rent-control preemption. Last reviewed July 2026. This material is general information for small rental owners, not legal advice; consult a North Dakota landlord-tenant attorney before acting on a specific tenancy.
There is nothing to be exempt from. North Dakota has no just-cause eviction statute at the state level, and SB 2046 (2019) preemption keeps cities from creating one locally. You can decline to renew a month-to-month tenancy for any lawful, non-discriminatory, non-retaliatory reason by serving the 30-day notice N.D.C.C. § 47-16-15 requires — the same rule a 1,000-unit operator follows.
North Dakota has no state rent cap, and SB 2046 (2019) preempts local rent control, so no city can impose one either. Against an average rent of $768, that means the market — not a statute — sets your ceiling. The practical limits: you cannot change rent mid-lease unless the lease allows it, a month-to-month increase needs proper notice, and an increase timed right after a tenant's complaint invites a retaliation claim under N.D.C.C. § 47-16-17.1.
Four obligations never scale with portfolio size: the habitability duty in N.D.C.C. § 47-16-13.1 (keeping the unit fit and making required repairs), the anti-retaliation protection in N.D.C.C. § 47-16-17.1, fair housing law barring discriminatory screening and terms, and whatever your own lease promises. The 30-day termination notice in N.D.C.C. § 47-16-15 also applies identically at every portfolio size.
Under North Dakota statute, no. N.D.C.C. § 47-16 draws no owner-occupied distinction — the notice, habitability, and retaliation rules read the same whether you live upstairs from your tenant or across the state. Since there is no just-cause law or rent control to be carved out of, owner-occupancy carve-outs that matter in states like California or Oregon simply have no role here.
Data sourced from NDCC §47-16-15; SB 2046 (2019). Eviction notice data from N.D.C.C. § 47-32-03. Last updated July 14, 2026. For informational purposes only, not legal advice.
