North Dakota Mobile Home Park Eviction Process: A Step-by-Step Guide

Nonpayment of rent

North Dakota does not give you a separate rent-default clock for mobile-home-park lots — the same rule that governs any tenancy applies. Under NDCC 47-32-01(4), you have grounds only once a tenant fails to pay rent for three days after the rent is due. Rent must be at least three days past due before you can move.

Before you file, you must serve a written notice of intention to evict. NDCC 47-32-02 requires that in nonpayment cases three days' written notice of intention to evict must be given to the lessee before proceedings can be instituted. If the resident pays in full within that three-day window, the default is cured and you cannot proceed on it.

Two park-specific rules bear on nonpayment. Your late-fee exposure is capped by NDCC 47-10-28(11): no more than ten percent of monthly rent as a monthly late fee, plus no more than five dollars per day. And the eviction notice itself must carry the boldfaced statutory disclaimer in NDCC 47-10-28(10). Get either wrong and you hand the resident a defense.

Other lease violations and park-rule breaches

For a straight lease breach, NDCC 47-32-01(8) allows eviction when the lessee violates a material term of the written lease agreement, and NDCC 47-32-02 again requires a three-day written notice of intention to evict before filing. Conduct that unreasonably disturbs other tenants' peaceful enjoyment (NDCC 47-32-01(7)) is handled more strictly — it is not on the list requiring the three-day pre-suit notice, and a hardship stay of execution is unavailable in peace-disturbance cases.

Park-rule enforcement is where mobile-home law diverges sharply from ordinary rentals. Under NDCC 47-10-28(3) you must give at least thirty days' advance written notice before any rule change takes effect. Then, once it is effective, if a home-owning resident's unit does not comply, you must give written notice of the non-compliance and provide the tenant three months to remedy the failure or vacate the premises before initiating an action for eviction. You cannot file at day thirty-one — the clock is a full three months.

To end a month-to-month lot tenancy without a specific cause, the general rule in NDCC 47-16-15(2) controls: either party may terminate by giving at least one calendar month's written notice.

The resident owns the home: relocation window and forced-sale ban

In a lot tenancy the resident usually owns the home and rents only the ground beneath it, and North Dakota protects that ownership directly. Under NDCC 47-10-28(2) a park owner may not require a tenant who owns a mobile home located on the property to sell or transfer ownership of the home to the owner of the mobile home park. You cannot use an eviction to absorb the home.

The clearest statutory removal window is tied to the rule-change process. NDCC 47-10-28(3) gives the non-complying resident three months to remedy or vacate, and that window stretches when relocation is difficult: if the tenant supplies a signed document from a person in the business of relocating mobile homes declaring it is not possible to relocate the tenant's dwelling unit within the three-month period, the three-month period must be extended to when the home can be moved or two months past the original period, whichever is first — up to roughly five months.

Outside that rule-change context, chapter 47-32 does not set a separate post-judgment deadline for the home to leave the lot, so plan for the home to remain until the court's restitution order and any special execution are carried out. Never use self-help — removing, disabling, or locking out a resident's home outside the court process is exactly the conduct the penalty provisions target.

Filing the eviction in district court

Eviction in North Dakota is a district-court action under NDCC chapter 47-32. After your pre-suit three-day notice has run (for nonpayment or a material lease breach), you file and a summons issues. Under NDCC 47-32-02 the appearance date may not be fewer than three nor more than fifteen days from the date on which the summons is issued, and personal service within the county must occur at least three days before that date (seven days for service elsewhere or by another mode).

Word the notice carefully. NDCC 47-10-28(10) requires a notice of intent to evict to include clear, boldfaced language stating: You do not have to vacate immediately. You have the right to remain until a court issues an eviction order. Omitting it is itself a statutory violation.

Expect the resident to raise your own compliance as a shield. NDCC 47-32-01.1 lets a park tenant present a defense that the landlord violated a provision of section 47-10-28, and if the court so finds, the court may not order an eviction. If you prevail, NDCC 47-32-04 directs judgment for immediate restitution, though the court may stay execution up to five days for hardship — not in peace-disturbance cases.

Typical timeline in North Dakota

• Rent becomes 3+ days late
  No eviction ground exists until rent is at least three days past due (NDCC 47-32-01(4)).
• Serve the 3-day notice of intention to evict
  Required before filing for nonpayment or a material lease breach; the resident can cure nonpayment by paying in full. Include the boldfaced MHP disclaimer (NDCC 47-32-02; 47-10-28(10)).
• Park-rule breaches: 3-month cure first
  For non-compliance with a changed park rule, give written notice and a full three months to remedy or vacate before filing — extendable if the home cannot be relocated in time (NDCC 47-10-28(3)).
• File in district court; summons issues
  Appearance is set 3 to 15 days out; personal service in-county at least 3 days before the date, 7 days if served elsewhere (NDCC 47-32-02).
• Hearing and judgment
  The tenant may defend on your NDCC 47-10-28 violations; if proven, no eviction issues. A prevailing landlord gets immediate restitution (NDCC 47-32-01.1; 47-32-04).
• Execution and restitution
  The court may grant up to a 5-day hardship stay of the special execution, except in peace-disturbance cases (NDCC 47-32-04).

Operator best practices in North Dakota

• Never skip the three-day notice
  For nonpayment and material lease breaches, a written 3-day notice of intention to evict is a hard prerequisite to filing (NDCC 47-32-02).
• Give park-rule changes a real runway
  Provide 30 days' advance notice of any rule change and a full three-month cure/relocation window before eviction — do not file early (NDCC 47-10-28(3)).
• Use the exact boldfaced eviction language
  Put the statutory You do not have to vacate immediately... sentence in boldface on every MHP eviction notice (NDCC 47-10-28(10)).
• Keep late fees and utility charges lawful
  Cap late fees at 10% of monthly rent plus $5/day, meter utilities individually, and cap any administrative fee at $3 (NDCC 47-10-28(8),(11)).
• Respect resident home ownership
  Never condition anything on the resident selling the home to the park — that is expressly prohibited (NDCC 47-10-28(2)).
• Mind rent-increase limits after a purchase
  If you buy a park, impose no rent increase for six months where rent rose within 60 days before the sale, and give 90 days' notice for month-to-month increases (NDCC 47-10-28(7)).
• Consider cash-for-keys
  A negotiated cash-for-keys payment is a common market practice that can move a resident out faster than litigation and sidestep relocation-window disputes — always document it in writing.
• Build a relationship with a North Dakota MHP attorney
  Steep penalties (up to $10,000 or actual damages plus fees, and district-court license suspension) and the tenant's 47-10-28 defense make local counsel essential before you file (NDCC 47-10-28(12),(13); 47-32-01.1).