N.D.C.C. §§ 47-16-01 through 47-16-30.1, 47-16-31 through 47-16-35, 47-16-42 § 47-16-27
Right of tenant.
Operative Text
47-16-27. Right of tenant.
A tenant for years or at will, unless the tenant is a wrongdoer by holding over, may:
1. Occupy the buildings.
2. Take the annual products of the soil.
3. Work mines and quarries open at the commencement of the tenant's tenancy.
4. Cultivate and harvest the crops growing at the end of the tenant's tenancy.
The tenant has no rights to the property other than such as are given the tenant by the
agreement or instrument by which the tenant's tenancy is acquired or by the provisions of this
section.North Dakota law under N.D.C.C. § 47-16-27 defines the baseline rights that a tenant for years or at will holds with respect to the leased property. A qualifying tenant may occupy the buildings, take annual crops or soil products, work mines or quarries that were already open when the tenancy began, and harvest crops still growing when the tenancy ends. Beyond these statutory rights and whatever the lease agreement itself grants, the tenant holds no additional rights to the property — and a tenant who wrongfully holds over loses the protections of this section entirely.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Under N.D.C.C. § 47-16-27, compliant property owners and managers generally structure lease agreements with an awareness that tenants carry certain baseline statutory rights — including the right to occupy buildings, harvest crops growing at tenancy's end, and work pre-existing mines or quarries — regardless of whether those rights are spelled out in the lease. Operators who wish to expand or restrict these defaults typically do so through explicit lease language, since the statute makes clear that tenant rights are limited to what the agreement provides plus what the section itself grants. Landlords managing agricultural or mixed-use properties in North Dakota often pay particular attention to crop and mineral provisions when drafting or renewing lease terms.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Section 47-16-27 of the North Dakota Century Code establishes that tenants for years or at will have a defined set of rights by operation of law, including the right to occupy the premises, harvest annual soil products, and complete the harvest of crops still in the ground when the tenancy ends. Tenants who believe a landlord is interfering with these statutory rights may have grounds to raise the provision as a basis for a claim or defense in a legal proceeding. Tenant-rights organizations and legal aid services in North Dakota can help renters understand how § 47-16-27 interacts with their specific lease terms and circumstances.
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
References Out
No outbound references recorded yet for this provision.
References In
Rules and statutes that cite this regulation