North Dakota Security Deposit Demand Letter
In North Dakota a landlord must itemize and return your security deposit within 30 days of the end of the lease. Money withheld without reasonable justification can cost treble damages. Attorney review available.
Introduction
A security deposit demand letter is a written demand a North Dakota tenant sends a former landlord to recover a security deposit that has not been returned, before filing in small claims court. North Dakota treats a security deposit as the tenant's money from the outset: the landlord must park it in a federally insured interest-bearing account held for the tenant's benefit, and both the deposit and its accrued interest come back to the tenant when the lease ends (N.D. Cent. Code Section 47-16-07.1(1)). If the money does not return, a written demand to the former landlord is the step that precedes a small claims filing. North Dakota gives the landlord 30 days after the lease terminates and possession is delivered to itemize any portion kept and mail or deliver that itemization, the amount due, and a written notice to the tenant's last furnished address (Section 47-16-07.1(3)). Deductions are confined to damage from the tenant's pet or the negligence of the tenant or a guest, unpaid rent, and cleaning or repairs needed to restore the unit to its original condition, reasonable wear and tear excepted (Section 47-16-07.1(3)(a)-(c)). Where a landlord keeps deposit money without reasonable justification, the statute imposes treble, or triple, damages, with no bad-faith label and no attorney fees provided (Section 47-16-07.1(4)). An unpaid demand can proceed to small claims for up to $15,000 (Section 27-08.1-01), within a six-year window to sue on a written lease (Section 28-01-16(1)). DocDraft prepares your North Dakota security deposit demand letter from your facts, with attorney review available before you send it.
Key Things to Know
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The demand letter is the written step a North Dakota tenant uses to recover a withheld deposit from a former landlord before turning to small claims court.
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North Dakota requires the deposit to sit in a federally insured interest-bearing account for the tenant's benefit; the general cap is one month's rent, and a pet security deposit may not exceed the greater of $2,500 or two months' rent (N.D. Cent. Code Section 47-16-07.1(1)-(2)).
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Within 30 days after the lease terminates and possession is delivered, the landlord must itemize anything kept and mail or deliver that itemization, the amount due, and a written notice to the tenant's last furnished address (Section 47-16-07.1(3)).
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Permitted deductions reach only pet or negligence damage, unpaid rent, and cleaning or repairs to restore the unit to its original condition, reasonable wear and tear excepted (Section 47-16-07.1(3)(a)-(c)).
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Because repair charges stop at what restoring the original condition requires, reasonable wear and tear excepted, ordinary wear and tear cannot be charged to the tenant (Section 47-16-07.1(3)(c)).
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Deposit money withheld without reasonable justification exposes the landlord to treble, or triple, damages; the statute names no bad-faith standard and provides no attorney fees (Section 47-16-07.1(4)).
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An unpaid demand can go to small claims for up to $15,000 (Section 27-08.1-01), and a written-lease claim may be brought within six years (Section 28-01-16(1)).
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Security Deposit Demand Letter in North Dakota, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Security Deposit Demand Letter guide walks through them.
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North Dakota Requirements for Security Deposit Demand Letter
Any portion of a North Dakota deposit not returned must be itemized and, with the amount due and a written notice, delivered or mailed to the tenant at the last address furnished within 30 days after termination of the lease and delivery of possession (N.D. Cent. Code Section 47-16-07.1(3)). Your demand letter should state that this deadline has passed.
When a North Dakota landlord keeps any part of the deposit, the written notice must itemize the amount applied and state any amount still due the landlord or the refund due the tenant (N.D. Cent. Code Section 47-16-07.1(3)). A missing itemization supports a demand for the full deposit.
A North Dakota landlord may apply the deposit only toward damages from deterioration or injury caused by the tenant's pet or the negligence of the tenant or a guest, unpaid rent, and cleaning or repairs needed to return the unit to its original state (N.D. Cent. Code Section 47-16-07.1(3)(a)-(c)). Deductions outside these categories can be disputed.
Cleaning and repair charges are limited to what is necessary to return the unit to its original state, reasonable wear and tear excepted, so a North Dakota landlord may not deduct for ordinary wear and tear (N.D. Cent. Code Section 47-16-07.1(3)(c)). Charges for normal use are improper.
A North Dakota landlord must hold the deposit in a federally insured interest-bearing account for the benefit of the tenant, and the general deposit cap is one month's rent (N.D. Cent. Code Section 47-16-07.1(1)). The deposit and accrued interest are due to the tenant upon termination, subject to lawful deductions.
A North Dakota landlord is liable for treble, or triple, damages for any security deposit money withheld without reasonable justification (N.D. Cent. Code Section 47-16-07.1(4)). The statute uses the standard of money withheld without reasonable justification rather than the phrase bad faith, and it does not provide for attorney fees.
Send the demand to the landlord using a trackable method such as certified mail with return receipt, and give your last furnished address so the itemization and refund can reach you. Keep a copy of the letter and the delivery record for a later small claims filing.
If the demand is ignored, a North Dakota tenant may sue in small claims court where the amount claimed may not exceed $15,000 (N.D. Cent. Code Section 27-08.1-01). The deadline to sue on a written lease is six years (Section 28-01-16(1)), though filing promptly after the demand is the practical course.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is the written demand a North Dakota tenant delivers to a former landlord who did not itemize and return the deposit within the 30 days set by N.D. Cent. Code Section 47-16-07.1(3). The letter fixes the amount owed, including any accrued interest the account was required to earn, disputes deductions outside the statute, and sets a payment date. It shows you sought the deposit before court and can flag the treble-damages exposure under Section 47-16-07.1(4).
The demand letter is the informal, cost-free request that asks a North Dakota landlord to pay before you open a case. Small claims is the formal proceeding you start when the demand is ignored, with the amount claimed capped at $15,000 (N.D. Cent. Code Section 27-08.1-01). Most demands settle the matter directly; if yours does not, it serves as evidence you tried to resolve the deposit before filing.
North Dakota fixes a 30-day deadline that begins when the lease terminates and you deliver possession (N.D. Cent. Code Section 47-16-07.1(3)). Within those 30 days the landlord must itemize anything kept and mail or deliver the itemization, the amount due, and a written notice to your last furnished address. When the 30 days close with no refund and no itemization, the demand letter is the customary next step ahead of small claims.
Where a North Dakota landlord keeps deposit money without reasonable justification, the statute makes the landlord liable for treble, or triple, damages (N.D. Cent. Code Section 47-16-07.1(4)). The trigger is money withheld without reasonable justification, not a finding of bad faith, and the section provides no attorney fees. Pointing to this treble-damages exposure in your letter tells the landlord that holding the deposit back without cause can cost three times the sum kept.
North Dakota permits deductions only for damage from the tenant's pet or the negligence of the tenant or a guest, unpaid rent, and cleaning or repairs needed to restore the unit to its original condition, reasonable wear and tear excepted (N.D. Cent. Code Section 47-16-07.1(3)(a)-(c)). Anything outside those three categories, or any charge for ordinary wear and tear, can be contested in your demand letter.
Yes. In North Dakota any portion of the deposit not returned must be itemized by the landlord and, with the amount due and a written notice, mailed or delivered to the tenant's last furnished address within the 30-day window (N.D. Cent. Code Section 47-16-07.1(3)). That notice has to state either the amount still owed to the landlord or the refund owed to the tenant. If no itemization ever arrives, that gap supports a demand for the whole deposit.
North Dakota small claims caps the amount claimed at $15,000 (N.D. Cent. Code Section 27-08.1-01). Your claim can combine the withheld deposit and, when the money was kept without reasonable justification, treble damages under Section 47-16-07.1(4). A written-lease claim may be filed within six years (Section 28-01-16(1)), though sending the demand and filing without long delay is the practical course.
Your North Dakota letter should identify you and the landlord, give the rental address and lease dates, state the deposit paid and your last furnished address, and note that the 30-day deadline in N.D. Cent. Code Section 47-16-07.1(3) has lapsed. Dispute any improper deduction, state the exact balance, add any accrued interest owed on the account, and demand payment by a set date. A reference to treble damages for money withheld without reasonable justification under Section 47-16-07.1(4) strengthens the demand.