Housing

HB 1496 amends North Dakota law to clarify landlords' responsibilities for maintaining rental properties. It requires landlords to comply with health/safety building codes, make necessary repairs, keep common areas clean, maintain essential systems (like plumbing and heating), and provide running water and reasonable heat (68°F Oct-April, seasonally appropriate May-Sept). The bill allows written agreements between landlords and tenants of single-family homes for tenants to handle specific tasks (like waste removal), but only with good faith and separate written terms. It explicitly states landlords cannot make such agreements a condition for rental obligations. This directly affects landlords and tenants in North Dakota residential rentals.

Relating to eliminating foreclosure of tax liens for residential property and collection of delinquent real property and special assessment taxes; to amend and reenact sections 40‑25‑03, 57‑02‑08.9, 57‑02‑08.10, 57‑20‑26, and 57‑22‑22, subsection 1 of section 57‑38.3‑02, sections 57‑45‑12, 61‑01‑21, 61‑09‑15, 61‑16.1‑31, 61‑24.8‑40, and 61‑35‑87, relating to the primary residence credit, setoff of income tax refunds for payment of delinquent real property and special assessment taxes, and eliminating foreclosure of tax liens for primary residential property; to provide an effective date; to provide an expiration date; and to declare an emergency.

Relating to move‑in and post move‑out inspections of leased property; and to amend and reenact section 47‑16‑07.1 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to tenant security deposits.