North Dakota (§§47-16-07.1 and 47-16-07.2) pairs a firm cap with two things smaller states usually skip: an interest requirement and a statutory move-in condition report.
How much can a landlord charge?
One month's rent — with exceptions the statute spells out: up to $2,500 or two months' rent for pet owners, and up to two months where the tenant has a felony conviction or prior eviction judgment against them. Deposits go in a federally insured interest-bearing account, and tenancies of nine months or longer earn the interest.
The condition report
§47-16-07.2 requires a written statement of the premises' condition at move-in, given to the tenant. It's the deduction baseline — and a landlord without one argues from memory against whatever the tenant can show.
The 30-day return
Within 30 days of termination and delivery of possession, the landlord returns the balance plus accrued interest with an itemized statement — unpaid rent and damage beyond ordinary wear and tear only. Provide a forwarding address in writing; the refund travels by mail.
Why North Dakota deposit disputes are documentation disputes
The state mandates a condition report because condition decides these cases — and then leaves the report as prose on a form, reinterpretable a year later like every other state's paperwork.
SealMove makes it unreinterpretable. Every photo and video is cryptographically sealed the instant it's captured, independently timestamped, and locked with Face ID into a tamper-evident archive. Pair it with the statutory condition report; at move-out the walkthrough lines up room-by-room against the sealed baseline — and either party can send the other a report to review and acknowledge, no app required.