Pet Deposits, Pet Rent & ESA Rules in North Dakota 2026
State pet-deposit treatment, federal Fair Housing Act assistance-animal rules, and what North Dakota landlords can and cannot ask.
In North Dakota, ordinary pets and assistance animals live under two completely different legal frameworks. A pet is a business decision you control through your lease. A service animal or emotional support animal (ESA) is a disability accommodation governed by the federal Fair Housing Act, and treating one like a pet is where most landlord liability starts. North Dakota adds a thin but useful layer on top of that federal baseline: a codified pet-deposit cap and, unusually, a state statute that lets you penalize tenants who fake an assistance-animal need. This page walks through what you can charge, what you can ask for, and where the lines are.
How North Dakota Treats Pet Deposits
Security deposit capped at 1 month's rent. The same statute expressly authorizes an additional refundable pet deposit not to exceed $2,500 or 2 months' rent (whichever is less).
Pets vs. assistance animals: the distinction that controls everything
Under the federal Fair Housing Act and HUD's assistance-animal guidance, a service animal and an emotional support animal are not pets. They are accommodations for a person with a disability, and that classification strips away most of the control you have over ordinary pets. You cannot apply a no-pets policy to an assistance animal, cannot charge a pet fee or pet deposit for one, and cannot enforce breed, size, or weight restrictions against one.
Two definitions matter. A service animal is trained to do specific work or tasks tied to a disability (for example, guiding, alerting, or retrieving). An emotional support animal needs no training; it provides therapeutic support that eases the effects of a disability. Both qualify as "assistance animals" for housing. Note that North Dakota's own service-animal statute, N.D. Cent. Code 25-13-01.1, defines a service animal narrowly as a trained dog, but that definition governs public accommodations, not housing. In a rental, the broader FHA assistance-animal standard applies and can include species other than dogs.
Deposits and fees: what North Dakota lets you charge
For an ordinary pet, North Dakota gives you real room. Under N.D. Cent. Code 47-16-07.1, your standard security deposit is capped at one month's rent (up to two months' rent only for a tenant with a felony conviction in the prior ten years or a documented prior rental-agreement violation). On top of that standard deposit, you may collect a separate pet security deposit that cannot exceed the greater of $2,500 or two months' rent. That is a meaningful cushion against animal damage, and it is stacked on top of the base deposit, not folded into it.
The same statute draws the bright line: the pet deposit applies only to an animal that is not a service animal or companion animal required by a tenant with a disability as a reasonable accommodation. So a legitimate service animal or ESA gets no pet deposit, no pet rent, and no pet fee, full stop. You can still charge the tenant for actual damage the animal causes, and you can still require the standard security deposit that every tenant pays; you simply cannot attach an animal-specific charge to an assistance animal.
Documentation you can request for an ESA or service animal
North Dakota codifies your verification rights in N.D. Cent. Code 47-16-07.5. When a tenant requests an assistance animal, you may require reliable supporting documentation of the disability and of the disability-related need for the animal, and that documentation must come from a physician or other medical provider. That statutory hook is useful: it lets you refuse a bare online "certificate" and ask for a real provider's verification of need.
There are limits. You cannot demand documentation when the disability and the need are readily apparent or already known to you, and the FHA still bars you from asking for the person's specific diagnosis or medical records, or from insisting on a particular form. You also cannot require the animal itself to be certified or registered; no such registry is recognized in housing. Respond to a well-supported request promptly, keep the exchange in writing, and treat an unreasonable delay as a potential denial.
When you can say no
The accommodation duty is broad but not unconditional. You may deny or remove an assistance animal that poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others that cannot be reduced by another reasonable accommodation, or one that would cause substantial physical damage to property. This must rest on the specific animal's actual conduct, not on its breed or on speculation. A history of biting is grounds; a Rottweiler with no incidents is not.
You may also deny a request when the requester has no disability-related need, when the documentation is unreliable, or when the accommodation would impose an undue financial or administrative burden or fundamentally alter your operations, a standard that is very hard to meet for a single animal. And the tenant remains fully responsible under the lease for the animal's behavior and for any damage it causes; the accommodation covers the deposit and the no-pets policy, not the tenant's underlying obligations.
North Dakota's assistance-animal fraud penalty
North Dakota is one of the states that specifically penalizes faking an assistance animal, and this cuts in the landlord's favor. Under N.D. Cent. Code 47-16-07.6, a tenant who knowingly provides fraudulent supporting documentation, or who knowingly makes a false claim of a disability-related need for an assistance animal, commits an infraction. The consequences for the tenant include possible eviction and liability to the landlord for up to $1,000 in damages.
A parallel provision, N.D. Cent. Code 25-13-02.2, makes it an infraction to falsely claim a pet is a service animal to gain access to a public place. Use these carefully. They apply to knowing fraud, not to a tenant whose documentation you simply find thin, and invoking them against a legitimate request would expose you to a fair-housing complaint. When the paperwork is genuinely fabricated, though, the statute gives you a clean path to enforce the lease and recover damages.
The Cost of Mishandling a North Dakota ESA Request
The most common mistake in North Dakota ESA cases is responding with a flat denial, "no pets means no pets", instead of engaging in the interactive process. The interactive process is itself a substantive duty. A landlord who refuses to consider the request, demands more documentation than HUD permits, or imposes a pet fee on an accepted assistance animal will lose at HUD even if the underlying accommodation could have been reasonably denied on its merits.
City-Level Eviction Risk in North Dakota
Pet-related eviction filings correlate with overall landlord-tenant litigation rates. View landlord risk and tenant-law profile by city:
Sources & Methodology
- Federal Fair Housing Act: 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B); 24 C.F.R. § 100.204; 24 C.F.R. § 180.671.
- HUD guidance: HUD FHEO Notice 2020-01 (Jan 28, 2020), assistance animals as a reasonable accommodation.
- ADA service animals: 28 C.F.R. § 36.302 (Title III, public accommodations).
- North Dakota pet deposit rule: N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-07.1.
Related Guides for North Dakota Landlords
This overview reflects North Dakota Century Code sections 47-16-07.1, 47-16-07.5, 47-16-07.6, and 25-13-01.1, read together with the federal Fair Housing Act and HUD's assistance-animal guidance, as of 2026. Statutes and HUD interpretation change, and how a rule applies depends on the specific animal, tenant, and property. It is general information for landlords, not legal advice; confirm current text on the North Dakota Legislature site and consult a North Dakota attorney before denying an accommodation or acting on suspected fraud.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I charge a pet deposit for an emotional support animal in North Dakota?
No. Under N.D. Cent. Code 47-16-07.1, the pet deposit applies only to an animal that is not a service or companion animal required as a disability accommodation. A legitimate ESA gets no pet deposit, pet rent, or pet fee. You may still collect the standard security deposit (capped at one month's rent) and charge for any actual damage the animal causes.
How much can I charge as a pet deposit for a regular pet?
N.D. Cent. Code 47-16-07.1 lets you charge a pet security deposit up to the greater of $2,500 or two months' rent. That is separate from and on top of the standard security deposit, which is capped at one month's rent for most tenants.
What documentation can I ask for when a tenant requests an ESA?
Under N.D. Cent. Code 47-16-07.5 you may require reliable supporting documentation from a physician or other medical provider verifying the disability and the disability-related need, unless the disability and need are readily apparent. You cannot demand a diagnosis, medical records, a specific form, or any animal registration or certification.
What happens if a tenant fakes an assistance animal?
North Dakota treats it seriously. Under N.D. Cent. Code 47-16-07.6, knowingly submitting fraudulent documentation or making a false disability-need claim is an infraction, and the tenant can face eviction plus up to $1,000 in damages payable to the landlord. This applies to knowing fraud, not to documentation you merely find weak.
Can I deny a service animal or ESA because of its breed or size?
No. The Fair Housing Act prohibits breed, size, and weight restrictions on assistance animals. You may only deny or remove an animal that poses a direct threat to others' safety or would cause substantial property damage, and that decision must be based on the individual animal's actual conduct, not its breed.
Does North Dakota give ESA tenants more rights than federal law?
Not really. The core housing protections for service animals and ESAs come from the federal Fair Housing Act. North Dakota's contribution is mainly procedural: it codifies the documentation a landlord may request (47-16-07.5) and adds a fraud penalty (47-16-07.6). The pet-deposit cap in 47-16-07.1 also confirms that assistance animals are exempt from pet deposits.
Federal authority: 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B); 24 C.F.R. § 100.204; HUD FHEO Notice 2020-01. State authority: N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-07.1. Last updated October 23, 2026. For informational purposes only, not legal advice. Pet and assistance-animal questions are highly fact-specific; consult a licensed North Dakota attorney before refusing any request.