N.D. Admin. Code ch. 46-05-01 § 46-05-01-04

Verification of occupancy

In Force
Verified 10/28/2026 · Next check 11/4/2026
effective 1/1/2010North DakotaFamilial Status Protection

Operative Text

N.D. Admin. Code ch. 46-05-01 § 46-05-01-04
1. In order for a housing facility or community to qualify as housing for persons fifty-five years of
age or older, it must be able to produce, in response to a complaint filed under this title,
verification of compliance with section 46-05-01-02 through reliable surveys and affidavits.

2. A facility or community shall, within one hundred eighty days of January 1, 2010, develop
procedures for routinely determining the occupancy of each unit, including the identification of
whether at least one occupant of each unit is fifty-five years of age or older. Such procedures
may be part of a normal leasing or purchasing arrangement.

3. The procedures described in subsection 2 must provide for regular updates, through surveys
or other means, of the initial information supplied by the occupants of the housing facility or
community. Such updates must take place at least once every two years.

4. Any of the following documents are considered reliable documentation of the age of the
occupants of the housing facility or community:

a. Driver's license;

b. Birth certificate;

c. Passport;

d. Immigration card;

e. Military identification;

f. Any other state, local, national, or international official documents containing a birth date
of comparable reliability; or

g. A certification in a lease, application, affidavit, or other document signed by any member
of the household age eighteen or older asserting that at least one person in the unit is
fifty-five years of age or older.

5. A facility or community shall consider any one of the forms of verification identified above as
adequate for verification of age, provided that it contains specific information about current
age or date of birth.

6. The housing facility or community must establish and maintain appropriate policies to require
that occupants comply with the age verification procedures required by this section.

7. If the occupants of a particular dwelling unit refuse to comply with the age verification
procedures, the housing facility or community may, if it has sufficient evidence, consider the
unit to be occupied by at least one person fifty-five years of age or older. Such evidence may
include:

a. Government records or documents, such as a local household census;

b. Prior forms or applications; or

c. A statement from an individual who has personal knowledge of the age of the occupants.
The individual's statement must set forth the basis for such knowledge and be signed
under the penalty of perjury.

8. Surveys and verification procedures which comply with the requirements of this section shall
be admissible in administrative and judicial proceedings for the purpose of verifying
occupancy.

9. A summary of occupancy surveys shall be available for inspection upon reasonable notice and
request by any person.
Source: Legislative text reproduced verbatim
Plain English

Section 46-05-01-04 of the North Dakota Administrative Code establishes how a housing facility or community that claims to qualify as 55-and-older housing must document and verify the ages of its occupants. The rule requires that such communities maintain ongoing procedures for confirming that at least one resident in each unit meets the age threshold, using accepted documents like driver's licenses, birth certificates, passports, or signed household certifications. These records must be updated at least once every two years and must be available for inspection or produced in response to a complaint. Properly conducted surveys and verification procedures are admissible in both administrative and judicial proceedings.

Written by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6 · Reviewed on October 28, 2026

Plain English — not legal advice.

For Property Managers

Operators of age-restricted communities in North Dakota should be aware that § 46-05-01-04 requires the development and maintenance of written procedures for routinely determining whether at least one occupant per unit is 55 or older. Compliant operators typically collect accepted age-verification documents—such as driver's licenses, passports, or signed household affidavits—at the time of leasing and refresh that information through surveys at least once every two years. When occupants decline to participate in verification, the rule permits a facility to draw on alternative evidence, such as government records or signed statements from individuals with personal knowledge, to make an age determination. Occupancy summaries must be kept available for inspection upon reasonable notice and request.

General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.

For Tenants

Under § 46-05-01-04, residents of communities that hold themselves out as 55-and-older housing have a right to understand how the community verifies age eligibility, and a summary of occupancy surveys must be made available for inspection upon reasonable request. The rule specifies that a signed certification in a lease or application asserting that at least one household member is 55 or older is considered adequate documentation, meaning tenants are not required to produce more than one qualifying form of verification. If a person believes a community is improperly claiming 55-and-older status without meeting the verification requirements, that concern can be raised as part of a complaint filed under North Dakota's fair housing framework, and tenant-rights organizations can help explain available options.

General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.

Generated October 28, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.

Effective Timeline

Current
Jan 1, 2010
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References Out

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Related Rules

§ 100.301
§ 100.301 Exemption.
§ 100.304
§ 100.304 Housing for persons who are 55 years of age or older.
§ 100.307
§ 100.307 Verification of occupancy.

Source Information

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Fetched:Oct 28, 2026, 10:46 AM UTC