For volunteer board members
North Dakota HOA Rules for Board Members (2026)
Most North Dakota board members are volunteers who just want to get it right. Below is a plain-English summary of the North Dakota rules that come up when a board enforces its documents, each paired with its statute section and the official text.
North Dakota homeowners associations and condominium associations. North Dakota has no general HOA law: the violation, hearing and fine steps come from your declaration or covenants, bylaws, rules and enforcement policy. The Condominium Ownership Act (chapter 47-04.1) covers condominiums only. Kindly Board walks a fair, documented process and shows the few state rules that apply. Where a step comes from your documents, it says so.
The short version: North Dakota law sets no periods for these steps, so Kindly Board uses the dates from your notice (your documents set them). If a deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, ask a North Dakota attorney.
Updated October 2026. Not legal advice.
Which North Dakota law applies
North Dakota has no general homeowners-association law that sets violation-notice, cure, hearing or fine steps (a 2025 bill on association bylaws and boards, SB 2394, did not pass). No North Dakota statute gives an HOA or condominium association the power to fine, sets a fine cap, cure period, notice rule, hearing deadline or hearing-notice period, or says who hears a case. HOAs and condominiums run on their recorded declaration or covenants, bylaws and rules.
N.D.C.C. ch. 47-04.1, ch. 47-04, ch. 10-33 (no violation procedure set); SB 2394 (2025) failed
Condominium owners must comply strictly with the bylaws, the rules and regulations adopted under them, and the covenants, conditions and restrictions in the declaration or their deed. Failure to comply is grounds for a court action for damages, injunctive relief or other relief, brought by the administrative body or, in a proper case, by an aggrieved owner. The section does not mention fines.
Condominium bylaws are annexed to the recorded declaration, and a bylaw amendment is valid only if it is set out in a recorded amendment to the declaration. All condominium bylaws, rules and regulations must be in writing and made available to every owner. Bylaws may not base assessments, or the sharing of losses or profits, on whether a unit is occupied by an owner or a tenant.
No North Dakota statute gives an HOA or condominium association the power to fine, or sets a fine cap or a fine appeal. A board may fine only if its declaration, bylaws or rules give it that power; the amount and process come from those documents. If they don't, talk to a North Dakota attorney first.
How North Dakota counts days
North Dakota's general rule for an act the law requires: don't count the first day; count the last day, unless it is a holiday, in which case it is also excluded. Holidays include every Sunday and the days listed in §1-03-01, plus any day the President or the Governor appoints as a public holiday; Saturday is not listed. Whether this rule reaches a period set by your own documents is a question for a North Dakota attorney; no North Dakota statute sets periods for a violation.
Violation notices and the chance to fix in North Dakota
North Dakota law sets no cure period in days and requires no courtesy notice; your documents control. 10 to 30 days is common practice, not a legal rule.
North Dakota law sets no content or delivery rule for a violation notice; follow your documents. Keep proof of the date and how it was sent.
Hearings in North Dakota
North Dakota law sets no separate path for a one-time violation. Follow your documents: notice and a chance to be heard before any fine is the fair course.
North Dakota law sets no hearing right, hearing deadline or hearing-notice period for a violation, and its open-meetings law covers public entities, not HOA or condominium boards. The Condominium Ownership Act leaves board meetings, notice and hearings to the bylaws. At least 10 days' notice of a hearing is common practice, not a North Dakota rule.
N.D.C.C. ch. 47-04.1 and ch. 10-33 (no hearing procedure set)
Assessments, late fees and liens in North Dakota
Condominiums: a reasonable common-expense assessment made under the recorded declaration and bylaws is a debt of the owner. The assessment plus charges on it, such as interest, costs and penalties as the declaration and bylaws provide, becomes a lien when the administrative body records it with the county recorder. The recorded notice states the amount, the other charges and the record owner's name, signed by an authorized representative; after payment the association records a satisfaction and release. Unclear: whether a violation fine not tied to an assessment can be part of this lien. Don't record a stand-alone fine as a lien without a North Dakota attorney's advice.
No North Dakota statute gives an HOA (non-condominium) a lien for unpaid assessments or fines; any lien depends on the recorded declaration. Talk to a North Dakota attorney before any lien or lawsuit.
Home sales: when an HOA or condominium home is sold, the seller gives the buyer a listed set of association information (assessments and unpaid amounts, special assessments, governing documents, minutes of the last two meetings, reserves and budgets, insurance, judgments and suits, alleged uncured violations at the home, transfer fees, collection policy, leasing limits, amenities, contacts), covering at least the 90 days before the sale agreement. The association must furnish the documents within 10 days after the seller's (or the seller's representative's) request, and may charge a reasonable fee disclosed before final acceptance of the purchase agreement.
Meetings and votes in North Dakota
A covenant running with the land, and a condominium covenant, declaration, bylaw or rule, may not prohibit an owner or resident from displaying a political yard sign on the owner's property within 60 days before any primary, general or special election. Reasonable rules on the placement and manner of display are allowed.
Nonprofit corporations (associations incorporated under chapter 10-33): unless the articles or bylaws provide otherwise, the board meets at least once a year. Unless the articles or bylaws set a different period, a director may call a board meeting with at least 10 days' notice of the date, time and place to all directors; no notice is needed if the date, time and place are in the articles or bylaws or were announced at a previous board meeting. A director may waive notice.
Nonprofit corporations keep their articles, bylaws, accounting records, voting agreements, and minutes of member, board and committee meetings for the last six years. A member or director, or their agent or attorney, may inspect those records for any proper purpose at any reasonable time; no response deadline in days is set. On request, a member or director gets a statement of the last annual accounting period's results and a balance sheet. The corporation may charge a reasonable fee for copies. A member or director wrongly denied access may sue for injunctive relief, damages, costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
Nonprofit corporations: where no other minimum is fixed by law, notice of a members' meeting is given at least 5 days before (or a shorter time in the articles or bylaws) and not more than 50 days before. It states the date, time and place, whether proxies are allowed and how to appoint one, and the purpose of a special meeting.
Flags, signs, solar and other owner rights
Condominiums: a covenant, restriction or bylaw that effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts installing or using an electric vehicle charging station in an owner's unit or designated parking space is void; reasonable restrictions on number, size, location and manner are allowed. An application must be processed without willful avoidance or delay, and the approval or denial must be in writing. If it is not denied in writing within 60 days from receipt, it is deemed approved, unless the delay comes from a reasonable request for more information. A willful violation can cost actual damages plus a civil penalty of up to $1,000.
No North Dakota statute limits HOA or condominium rules on flags or solar panels. Federal law bars a policy that restricts a member's display of the U.S. flag on property the member owns or exclusively uses, subject to reasonable time, place and manner rules needed to protect a substantial interest of the association.
Other rules boards should know
North Dakota law doesn't sort violations into types. Your documents decide whether an ongoing violation gets a period to fix it, and how long.
A covenant running with the land executed after August 1, 1997 must say how it can be modified. If a covenant has no modification provision, 85 percent of all owners of the property it covers may agree in writing to add one; the modified covenant must be recorded. This doesn't apply to an unfinished subdivision unless it has been in development for over 15 years.
Step by step: a North Dakota violation case
The order Kindly Board walks a North Dakota board through, from the first look to the last letter.
- Check before you start Every case
Find the rule, and the steps your own documents require. - Courtesy reminder Optional
A friendly first note before any formal notice. - Formal notice of violation Before any fine (per your documents)
The rule, the facts, the fix-by date and how to be heard, in the form your documents require. - Hearing (if the owner asks, or your documents require one) Per your documents
A fair chance to be heard before the Board decides. - Board vote on the fine Before a fine
Only if your documents allow fines, at a proper board meeting. - Notice of fine After the vote
Amount, due date, how to pay, and the rule behind it. - Close the case Every case
Record how it ended and keep the file.
North Dakota HOA rules: FAQ
What HOA law applies in North Dakota?
North Dakota homeowners associations and condominium associations. North Dakota has no general HOA law: the violation, hearing and fine steps come from your declaration or covenants, bylaws, rules and enforcement policy. The Condominium Ownership Act (chapter 47-04.1) covers condominiums only. Kindly Board walks a fair, documented process and shows the few state rules that apply. Where a step comes from your documents, it says so. The main sources: Your documents, plus the N.D. Century Code (ch. 47-04.1 condominiums, §§47-04-25.1, 47-04-32, 47-10-02.3, and ch. 10-33 nonprofit corporations).
How are days counted for North Dakota HOA deadlines?
North Dakota law sets no periods for these steps, so Kindly Board uses the dates from your notice (your documents set them). If a deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, ask a North Dakota attorney.
What does North Dakota law say about violation hearings?
North Dakota law sets no separate path for a one-time violation. Follow your documents: notice and a chance to be heard before any fine is the fair course. (N.D.C.C. (no violation types set))
Official text
- Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005, Pub. L. 109-243
- SB 2394 (2025) bill overview: failed to pass
- N.D. Century Code ch. 47-04.1 Condominium Ownership of Real Property (official text)
- N.D. Century Code ch. 10-33 Nonprofit Corporations (official text)
- N.D. Century Code ch. 47-04 Recording of Instruments / Covenants (official text)
- N.D. Century Code ch. 47-10 Transfer of Real Property (official text)
- N.D. Century Code ch. 1-02 Construction of Statutes (official text)
- N.D. Century Code ch. 1-03 Holidays (official text)