How to Break a Lease in North Dakota

Renting a property is often the easiest and most affordable way to find a place to live. If you reside in North Dakota, you will want to be familiar with the rules and regulations that help to protect tenants and landlords. When you are in a situation where breaking a lease in North Dakota is unavoidable, make sure you have the evidence and paperwork to help your case.

No one wants to go through the process of breaking a lease when they don't have to. But if you are in a situation where this choice is inevitable, you will want to make sure you take the right steps. If you don't know where to start, DoNotPay can help.

Tenants Rights and Responsibilities in North Dakota

North Dakota has specific renters’ rights and responsibilities outlined in the state's housing code. In order to be protected by these rights, a tenant must be responsible and take care of any issues in a timely manner.

If a landlord fails to correct any issues, such as those that would cause a health hazard on the property, a tenant has the right to break their lease to find a safer environment to live.

Beyond health hazards, there are a few other justified reasons to break a lease in ND.

When Breaking a Lease is Justified in North Dakota

Tenants are allowed to break a lease in North Dakota for a few specific legal reasons. Outside of these reasons, a tenant is considered breaking a contract when they break a lease.

Early Termination Clause

Some leases have an early termination clause that allows a tenant to leave early. In order for this to be used, the tenant must follow all the requirements outlined in the clause.

Property is Not Habitable

If a rental property does not meet the basic standards of habitability according to state health and building codes, a renter can effectively leave without consequence.

Violating a Renter's Privacy

Landlords need to have access to a property to take care of maintenance and repair issues. However, a landlord should give reasonable notice to the tenant that they will be entering the premises. If it is found that a landlord is abusing this access, it can be cause to break a lease.

Domestic Violence

If a tenant is the victim of domestic violence, they have certain protections in order to keep them safe. If they need to break their lease or switch to a month-to-month agreement, they are allowed to do so after meeting specific requirements.

Lease Termination Notice Requirements in North Dakota

In North Dakota, a tenant is required to provide notice when leaving. The length of notice required before leaving is determined by the type of lease that you hold:

Consequences of Illegally Breaking a Lease

If you break a lease without a protected reason to do so, you may find yourself facing some serious consequences that could impact your ability to rent in the future. Some of the most common consequences of breaking a lease include:

• Losing a security deposit
• Paying termination fees (up to two months rent)
• Negatively impacting your credit score
• Dealing with a lawsuit brought on by your landlord

How to Break a Lease in North Dakota on Your Own

When breaking a lease in North Dakota is necessary, you will need to complete a few steps to make sure you have a case to leave. To break a lease in North Dakota or any other state, you will need to:

1. Contact your landlord to discuss your situation and any options that may be available
2. Provide your landlord a letter detailing the reasons why you need to leave before the lease term ends
3. Provide any additional evidence that supports your claim for leaving early

If these steps do not take care of the situation, your landlord may have the right to go to small claims court to handle the situation.

Breaking a Lease in North Dakota With the Help of DoNotPay

If you are in a situation where you need to break your lease, it is important to take the right steps to get your reasons heard. Need help getting started? DoNotPay has you covered.

Here's how you can get started in 3 easy steps:

1. Search Break My Lease on DoNotPay.

2. Prepare a signed copy of your lease that you can use as a reference, and enter the state the lease was signed in.

3. Let us guide you through the 4 potential options.

DoNotPay will then do one of the following things to give you a fast, easy, and successful solution to breaking your North Dakota apartment lease:

• If you're a uniformed service member breaking a lease to fulfill your service obligations, we'll send your landlord an SCRA Protection Letter.
• If you're breaking your lease for a reason protected by your state's tenant laws, we'll write your landlord a letter detailing your protections for breaking the lease under the relevant law.
• If your reasons for breaking your lease aren't protected by federal or state law, but you'd like to try to convince your landlord to let you break the lease through mutual agreement, we'll draft a hardship letter making your case to your landlord.
• If there are no remaining options for breaking the lease with protection, but your state requires landlords to mitigate damages to tenants who break their leases, we'll notify your landlord of that obligation and minimize the remaining rent you have to pay.

What Else Can DoNotPay Do to Help You?

When you need to get stuff done, DoNotPay can help. Some of the tasks that DoNotPay can assist with include:

• Settling a breach of contract
• Reducing property taxes
• Creating a power of attorney
• Canceling subscriptions and memberships

DoNotPay makes taking care of these and many other tasks as simple as following a few steps. Try it today and see how much time and money you’ll save with DoNotPay!