North Dakota HOA Governing Statute

1. Overview — How HOAs are governed in North Dakota

North Dakota governs condominiums and other planned communities in two different ways, which makes it a hybrid state. The North Dakota Condominium Ownership Act gives condominiums comprehensive statutory coverage. No comparable statute exists for non-condominium planned communities.¹

The Condominium Ownership Act sits in the North Dakota Century Code at § 47-04.1-01 et seq. It is a bespoke state statute, and it governs how condominium projects form, operate, and run day to day.¹

Non-condominium HOAs work differently. They run on recorded covenants, conditions, and restrictions — CC&Rs — and they lean on the North Dakota Nonprofit Corporation Act in chapter 10-33. That combination makes North Dakota functionally CC&R-primary for any planned community that takes a form other than the condominium.^2,3

The state's court structure stands out too. The Court of Appeals hears only the cases the Supreme Court assigns to it under Administrative Rule 27. So most HOA civil appeals travel straight from district court to the North Dakota Supreme Court.^4,5

North Dakota does not follow the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act. Its condominium statute stands on its own, independent of the uniform model.¹ All of this leads to one practical point: your compliance obligations depend heavily on whether your community is a condominium or a non-condominium planned community.

2. The statutory framework

The North Dakota Condominium Ownership Act, at § 47-04.1-01 et seq., is the bespoke statute that governs condominiums in the state.¹ It is concise — 16 sections — and it applies only to condominium projects, not to non-condominium planned communities.¹ A property comes under the chapter when the owner or owners record a declaration submitting the parcel to a condominium project in the office of the county recorder, under § 47-04.1-02.⁶

The statute revolves around recorded instruments. Section 47-04.1-03 spells out what the declaration must contain: a survey map of the land, diagrammatic floor plans that identify each unit, a description of the common elements and limited common elements, and the fractional or percentage interest each unit holds in the entire project.⁶ Section 47-04.1-04 requires the owner to record a declaration of restrictions before conveying any condominium. Those restrictions bind all owners and, where reasonable, the courts enforce them as equitable servitudes.⁶

The key defined terms live in § 47-04.1-01. A condominium is an estate in real property — an undivided interest in common in a portion of a parcel, together with a separate interest in space in a structure. Common areas means the entire project except the units. Limited common areas means elements designed for use by fewer than all the units. A unit means the elements of a condominium not owned in common.⁶

The declaration and bylaws together form the operating framework. Under § 47-04.1-07, the unit owners or their administrative body must provide bylaws covering maintenance of common elements, assessment of expenses, payment of losses, division of profits, disposition of hazard insurance proceeds, and similar matters. A true copy of the bylaws must be annexed to the declaration and filed with the recorder, and no bylaw amendment takes effect unless an amendment to the declaration sets it out and the parties record it.⁶ Section 47-04.1-08 requires each unit owner to comply strictly with the bylaws, rules, and recorded covenants, and it allows enforcement through actions for damages or injunctive relief.⁶

North Dakota has no comprehensive planned community statute. No standalone HOA Act covers non-condominium associations such as single-family subdivisions and townhome developments that organize outside the condominium form.² For these communities, the recorded CC&Rs are the primary governing document, and the articles of incorporation, bylaws, and rules fill in around them.²

The North Dakota Nonprofit Corporation Act, chapter 10-33, supplies the corporate framework. Most planned-community HOAs incorporate as nonprofit corporations, which puts them under chapter 10-33's rules on directors, members, meetings, records, and annual reporting to the Secretary of State.^3,7 The Act governs corporate procedure. It does not regulate assessments, architectural control, or the other substantive functions of a community association — the CC&Rs control those.²

For a non-condominium HOA, the order of precedence generally runs this way: governing state and federal law, then the recorded declaration or CC&Rs, then the articles of incorporation, then the bylaws, and finally the board-adopted rules and resolutions.² The operational implication matters. Because no detailed planned community statute fills the gaps, the recorded CC&Rs do most of the work. Boards and managers have to read the declaration carefully, because when the documents go silent, the chapter 10-33 corporate default usually controls — not a statutory community-association protection.^2,3

North Dakota's trial courts are the district courts. They hold general civil jurisdiction and hear HOA and condominium disputes at first instance.⁸ The North Dakota Court of Appeals is something different. The 1987 legislative assembly created it as a temporary court under chapter 27-02.1, and it carries very limited jurisdiction.^4,5 It hears only the cases the Supreme Court assigns to it under Administrative Rule 27. It has no permanent judges. It sits in panels of three drawn from active and retired district judges, retired justices, and lawyers. And the assignments come rarely — Ballotpedia notes that in some years the supreme court assigns no cases to the court of appeals at all.^4,5 The North Dakota Supreme Court, with five justices, is the highest court and primarily a court of appeals.⁸

The categories that may go to the Court of Appeals under Administrative Rule 27 include certain family law matters, appeals from administrative agency decisions, appeals from trial court orders on motions for summary judgment, juvenile court appeals, and misdemeanor convictions.⁴ HOA and condominium civil disputes are not on that list.⁴

So most civil HOA appeals go straight from district court to the North Dakota Supreme Court, with no Court of Appeals review in between.^5,8 For most civil HOA matters, North Dakota operates much like the states that have no intermediate appellate court at all — New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Montana, and Alaska. Practitioners should expect a single level of appellate review, by the Supreme Court.

3. Compliance obligations created by the statutory framework

Governance obligations

For condominiums, § 47-04.1-07 requires the unit owners or their administrative body to adopt bylaws governing administration, and it requires that all bylaws, rules, and regulations be put in writing and made available to every owner. The unit owners must also record the name of the person who handles administrative duties, and that person serves as agent for service of process.⁶ These obligations are mandatory in the sense that bylaws must exist, though the declaration and bylaws may largely set their content. For non-condominium HOAs organized as nonprofit corporations, the governance obligations flow from chapter 10-33: a board of at least three directors under § 10-33-28, board meetings at least once a year, and elections run as the articles or bylaws provide.^3,9 The articles or bylaws may vary these corporate defaults, within the limits of chapter 10-33.⁹

Financial obligations

For condominiums, § 47-04.1-11 lets the administrative body levy reasonable assessments for common expenses, made in line with the recorded declaration and bylaws. An assessment becomes a debt of the owner when the body makes it, and it becomes a lien on the unit when the body records a notice of assessment with the county recorder.⁶ The county levies real property taxes and special assessments on each unit separately, not on the entire project, under § 47-04.1-13.⁶ The statute does not require reserve funding or specific budget procedures; it leaves those to the declaration and bylaws. For non-condominium HOAs, the CC&Rs govern assessment authority, budgets, and reserves — not the statute — and chapter 10-33 supplies only general corporate financial-record duties.^2,3

Disclosure obligations

North Dakota enacted a resale disclosure obligation in 2025. Section 47-10-02.3, created by Senate Bill 2229, requires sellers of a condominium unit, or of a property subject to a homeowners' association or condominium project, to give the buyer detailed documentation. That includes assessments and fees, current budgets, governing documents, meeting minutes, insurance details, pending litigation, and leasing restrictions.^10,11 The obligation applies to both condominiums and non-condominium HOA properties, and it is mandatory.^10,11 For incorporated associations, chapter 10-33 also requires that financial and corporate records be available, including a statement of financial results on a member's request, under § 10-33-80.⁷

Dispute resolution obligations

For condominiums, § 47-04.1-08 makes a failure to comply with the bylaws, rules, or recorded covenants grounds for an action — to recover damages, to obtain injunctive relief, or for other relief — brought by the administrative body or by an aggrieved unit owner.⁶ The statute does not require pre-suit notice, an opportunity to be heard, or alternative dispute resolution; any of those procedures have to come from the declaration and bylaws.⁶ For non-condominium HOAs, dispute resolution likewise depends on the CC&Rs and bylaws.² North Dakota is a judicial foreclosure state, so association lien foreclosures move through the courts.¹² Disclosure-related remedies under § 47-10-02.3 — such as a buyer's ability to void a purchase contract when documents arrive late — are statutory.¹¹

4. North Dakota's recent legislative and judicial activity

Recent bills

North Dakota's legislature meets only every two years, so HOA bills are rare. When one passes, it tends to reshape day-to-day practice for sellers and associations alike.

Recent court rulings

Most North Dakota HOA appeals skip the intermediate court and go straight to the Supreme Court. Its recent work tends to hold associations to the letter of the statute.

Active legislative debates

North Dakota's smaller HOA market and every-other-year sessions keep the debate quiet. The open question is what happens in the gaps the statutes do not fill.

5. National positioning and related coverage

North Dakota is a hybrid state. It is condominium-comprehensive through the bespoke North Dakota Condominium Ownership Act at § 47-04.1-01 et seq., but CC&R-primary for non-condominium planned communities, which run on recorded covenants and the Nonprofit Corporation Act with no comprehensive HOA statute behind them.^1,2,3 Its distinctive features stand out: an independent, non-UCIOA condominium statute, a limited-jurisdiction Court of Appeals that hears only the cases assigned under Administrative Rule 27, and a structure that sends most HOA appeals straight to the Supreme Court.^1,4,5 For multi-state operators, the practical implication is clear. You have to build North Dakota compliance from the recorded documents and corporate law for most communities, with the condominium statute supplying the only detailed statutory rules — and your appellate exposure runs to a single Supreme Court review.

6. Closing note

HOA Weekly updates its North Dakota Governing Statute coverage quarterly, so it reflects new legislation, court rulings, and regulatory changes as they arrive. Federal frameworks apply here too — among them the Fair Housing Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act — and they govern North Dakota community associations alongside these state requirements.

Footnotes

1. N.D. Cent. Code ch. 47-04.1, Condominium Ownership of Real Property (chapter index, 16 sections) ↩
2. North Dakota State Laws Overview, RunHOA (corroborated by N.D. Cent. Code ch. 47-10) ↩
3. N.D. Cent. Code ch. 10-33, Nonprofit Corporations (full chapter text) ↩
4. N.D. Sup. Ct. Admin. R. 27, Court of Appeals (jurisdiction and assigned-case categories) ↩
5. North Dakota Court of Appeals, Ballotpedia (established 1987; hears only assigned cases; some years no cases assigned) ↩
6. N.D. Cent. Code ch. 47-04.1, §§ 47-04.1-01 through 47-04.1-16 (full text — definitions, declaration contents, bylaws, compliance, liens, tax levy) ↩
7. N.D. Cent. Code § 10-33-80, Books and Records — Financial Statement, FindLaw ↩
8. Guide to an Appeal to the North Dakota Supreme Court, North Dakota Court System ↩
9. N.D. Cent. Code § 10-33-06, FindLaw (director and member default rules; minimum board; meetings) ↩
10. S.B. 2229, 69th Leg. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.D. 2025), Bill Overview, North Dakota Legislative Branch ↩
11. Effective Dates of 2025 Legislation, North Dakota Legislative Branch (S.B. 2229 effective Aug. 1, 2025) (codified at N.D. Cent. Code § 47-10-02.3) ↩
12. New Opinions: Feb. 22, 2024, North Dakota Court System (listing Industrial Comm'n v. Gould, 2024 ND 32, Docket 20230188) ↩
13. Industrial Comm'n of N.D. v. Gould (Fendee Grp., LLC), 2024 ND 32, Docket No. 20230188 (full opinion), Justia ↩