Real Estate Bookkeeping In North Dakota
Fargo runs the interest mechanics at volume, including the unallocated-interest problem nobody surfaces. Bismarck exercises the multi-component deposit, where pet and security amounts have separate caps and separate purposes and must stay distinct through the tenancy to be defensible at application. Grand Forks sits on the awkward boundary: an academic-year letting is close enough to nine months that entitlement turns on exact dates rather than lease category.
Locate the city nearest to you and select your software below to learn more. Don’t see your city? Schedule a meeting with us to learn more about how REA can help your property management accounting needs.
North Dakota at a glance
- Security deposit return
- 30 calendar days
- Governing statute
- N.D.C.C. 47-16-07.1
- Cities we publish
- Fargo · Bismarck · Grand Forks
What North Dakota Law Changes About Your Books
Deposit Handling and Trust Requirements
Trust and deposit rules are set state by state, and they change the accounting itself, not just the paperwork around it. A deadline is a ledger requirement: you cannot return a deposit inside a statutory window if the ledger cannot say what is owed.
Security deposits
North Dakota 47-16-07.1 caps the security deposit at one month's rent and requires return within 30 days after the tenant relinquishes control of the unit. A PET security deposit is separately permitted up to the GREATER of $2,500 or two months' rent, which is a different limit with a different justification, so combining the two into one figure cannot demonstrate either was within its own cap.
Trust and segregation
The deposit must sit in a federally insured INTEREST-BEARING savings or checking account for the benefit of the tenant, but interest is only payable to the tenant where occupancy reached at least NINE MONTHS, accumulated and paid at the end of the agreement. The account therefore earns across every tenancy while only some create an entitlement, which leaves interest on short tenancies sitting in the account belonging to nobody. Unresolved, it makes the balance permanently exceed the sum of tenant liabilities.
What we do about it
- Deposit liabilities tracked per tenant, so a 30 calendar days deadline is answerable from the ledger
- Trust accounts reconciled three ways, including every beneficiary balance
- Deduction documentation recorded against the correct ledger, not filed separately
- Aging deposits flagged before the statutory window closes
Summary of statutory requirements provided for orientation. It is not legal advice, and local ordinances can impose stricter rules than the state minimum.
Cities We Cover in North Dakota
Market by Market
We work with property managers and investors across all of North Dakota, all 373 cities and towns of it. The markets below are the ones we publish North Dakota-specific detail for. If yours is not listed, the same team and the same N.D.C.C. 47-16-07.1 rules still apply.
Fargo
North Dakota requires deposits to sit in an interest-bearing account for the tenant's benefit and then only pays that interest out where occupancy reached nine months. The account earns from day one; the tenant's entitlement starts later.
Bookkeeping by platform
Bismarck
North Dakota permits several distinct amounts to be collected at move-in, each with its own limit, and combining them into one deposit figure is what turns a compliant arrangement into a non-compliant one.
Bookkeeping by platform
Grand Forks
North Dakota's nine-month interest threshold sits almost exactly on top of a standard academic year, which makes Grand Forks portfolios unusually likely to have tenancies falling on both sides of it.
Bookkeeping by platform
Select Your Software
We Work Inside Your Platform, From Anywhere in North Dakota
Services Available in This State
Every back-office function below is available on its own or as part of a full monthly close, anywhere in the state.
Experts In All Property Types
Residential, commercial and everything in between. The asset class changes what the books have to prove, and our teams are staffed accordingly.
- Single-Family
- Multifamily
- Student Housing
- Affordable Housing
- Community AssociationsSee the page
- CommercialSee the page
Check Out What Our Clients Have To Say About Us
Property Managers, Investors & Owner Operators
Smaller portfolio, still looked after
Adam the owner took a personal interest in my situation and was willing to work with me to see if his company was a good fit. I may be too small for them but I would highly recommend them to anyone considering a bookkeeper for their property management business.
Came from a bookkeeper who did not know real estate
Following a series of erroneous financials from my previous bookkeeper, who lacked expertise in real estate, it's been truly remarkable to receive not only accurate financials on a consistent basis but also proactive advice without prompting. The REA team is a game-changer in real estate accounting!
Real-estate-only specialists
As REA exclusively specializes in Real Estate, I rest easy knowing my financials are precise every month while saving money at the same time, an invaluable benefit.
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Property Accounting for North Dakota Portfolios
Schedule a call and we will walk your North Dakota deposit and trust setup, tell you whether it reconciles today, and scope the monthly work.